Central City Murders
by mistyrose224
Summary: Murders have been piling up at Central and Roy is assigned the case of finding the murderer, better know as "The Shadow". All the while caring for a boy that showed up at his doorstep. With his new found stresses, will Roy ever find the mysterious Shadow that haunts Central Streets at night? AU Parental Roy/Ed!
1. Chapter 1

**Sorry I haven't been writing for like ever. Just kinda took a very long break, hopefully you guys have waited for me but I totally understand if you gave up hope of ever seeing my stories again. Hopefully I can make it up to you with this story, it's coming along nicely.**

 **Bear with me though, it may take time to finish this story. Anyways, enough of me. Lets get to the story, I hope you enjoy!**

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Onyx eyes glanced over the morbid scene as someone came up behind him.

"We've got another one, Roy."

Roy turned his head to look at Hughes and sighed with frustration. "How was this one killed?" He focused his eyes back onto the bloody women laid out on the cold pavement of a back alley.

"Same as the others. Her throat was slit and there was a struggle but no one heard them." Hughes answered. "One older woman informed us that she saw a shadow and she claimed it wasn't a very tall man. Whatever that means." Hughes mumbled.

Roy looked at the walls of the narrow alley where blood was splashed across them and had dried. Clear evidence that someone had first hit the woman against the wall then slit her throat with a sharp object of some sort.

"How many does that make it now?" Roy turned to ask his friend. Hughes frowned, "Six. Six people who've died within two weeks and nothing to go on yet but we did find something here." Hughes gestured for Roy to follow and he led him over to the other people who were at the scene. He grabbed something from one of his guys and showed it to Roy.

Roy took the small black piece of fabric and looked at it. "Any idea what it is?" He asked, hopeful. Hughes shook his head. "No, maybe a hat or glove?. We just can't be sure." Hughes sighed. "I just want to catch this guy and put an end to these murders! It's been going on for weeks now, not counting all the other reports across the country!" He said.

"We will find this guy. And when we do, we'll put an end to him. Permanently." Roy promised then turned. "I can't help you with the body so, unless you need me for something else, I'm gonna go home. It's been a long day." Roy said.

Hughes nodded, "Yeah, it's fine. You need rest, you've been at this case for weeks now. Go home." Hughes smiled and patted his friend lightly on the back. "Go home and get a good nights rest."

Roy nodded to him and ducked under the crime scene tape. He'd seen enough bloody bodies in one lifetime, and these murders weren't helping. He sighed, all they needed was a break in the case. Just something to point them in the right direction.

Roy walked up to his door and unlocked it. He went in and threw his keys onto the coffee table then sat down on the black leather couch. "Why can't we just get a break?" He moaned out loud to himself.

A knock sounded at his door and Roy stood up to answer it. "Wonder if they found something to go on?" He rushed to the door and stood tall, clearing his throat, he opened the door.

"Hi,"

He looked down at a young blond that stood at his door. The kid smiled lightly at him, "Do you know where a hotel is?" He asked with a slight hesitation.

Roy sighed, he had hoped this was something to do with the case not some dumb kid asking directions. "Yeah but the only one in town is full. It's a busy weekend with all the murders, and people are fearing for their lives." Roy answered.

The kid glanced up at him with eyes Roy had never seen before. They reminded him of a cat's eyes. Golden, bright, and big. They kinda scared him.

"Oh. Well, do you know anywhere else I could stay?" The kid asked with a frown. "It's getting cold out here so I need someplace to go. I really don't care where." He said.

Roy thought back to earlier that day when Hawkeye had told him he needed to start being nicer to people and helping them when they needed it. She said that's what she liked in a man.

"You could stay the night here if you have no where else to go. As long as you're not a serial killer, we've got enough of those running around." Roy tried for a sick joke.

The kid gave him a strange look then looked past Roy in his house. "Could I stay?" He glanced back with big pleading eyes.

Roy didn't want the kid to stay but if it got him closer to Hawkeye then how could he deny a perfect chance such as that?.

"Yeah, come on in." He led the kid through the door and told him to sit on the couch while Roy locked the door up. "Don't want anyone to try to get in. Of course, it would be stupid for them to try considering I am with the military." Roy said with a laugh.

The kid looked shocked and stared at him for a moment. "You're with the military?" He asked with a small voice as he fiddled with his hands.

"Yeah, something wrong with that?" Roy scowled as he went and sat down on a chair on the other side of the couch.

"No, it's just I've had bad experiences with the military. They tried to hurt me and my family before when I was little so I try to avoid them." He said then looked up at Roy, "But you seem okay."

"Uh thanks I guess. What's your name, by the way? Mine's Roy Mustang." He asked the kid.

"My name's Edward Elric but you can just call me Ed." He said. "Do you cook? If so, are we gonna have dinner or not?" He asked with a grin as he looked around with wide eyes.

Roy smiled, "Two minutes here and you're already asking for free food?. Typical." He laughed, "How old are you anyways?" He asked as he stood.

Edward looked at him, "I'm eleven, almost twelve . How old are you?" He grinned playfully.

"Oh we aren't going there!" Roy shook his head and went to the kitchen. "Do you like soup?" He called.

"Yeah I like soup but it's been awhile since I've had it though." Edward said as he looked around the room at the assortment of books and papers that Roy had yet to complete.

"Good 'cause that's what we're having." He pulled out the ingredients and started cooking. Finally, he carried out two bowls with soup in them and set them onto the table in the living room. "Here's dinner." He said to Ed.

Edward jumped up from the couch and ran to the table. He sat down and grabbed up a spoon then dug into the soup. He froze and glared with such cold eyes at the soup that Roy actually swallowed nervously. "Something wrong?" He asked.

Ed slowly looked up from the bowl, "Is there milk in this?" He asked quietly as he squeezed the spoon with enough force to bend it.

"Yeah there is. I take it you don't like milk?" Roy asked carefully as he set his spoon down next to his bowl.

"I hate it! It's white poison that they suck from a cow's..." Ed visibly shook and stuck his tongue out, "Yuck." He pushed the bowl away and guiltily looked at the bent spoon and set it on the table. "Sorry 'bout the spoon. I didn't mean to bend it." He looked at his lap and avoided Roy's eyes.

"It's no big deal. I have tons of them. My friend, Maes, is always bringing them over. He says that I don't have enough. Personally, I think his wife just keeps buying them so he off loads them onto me." He smiled.

"I can make you something else if you don't want to eat that?" Roy asked with a small smile. He never was great around kids. Especially kids he didn't know.

Ed's golden eyes lit up, "You'd do that for me?" He gasped and stared in shock at Roy.

Roy's mouth carved into a smile and he nodded. "Yeah I'd do that for a guest. Most kids like peanut butter and jam sandwiches, right?" He asked as he got up from the table.

Ed frowned "I'm not a kid," He crossed his arms and looked at the floor, "But I do like peanut butter and jam..." He muttered.

Roy smirked and shook his head. Of course this person in his house was a child, and probably not a very smart one at that.

He made his way to the kitchen and started making the sandwich. "So Ed, where's your family and why aren't you staying with them?" He asked as he spread the peanut butter onto the bread.

Ed frowned and knitted his brows together. "Well, they died a few years back and ever since then I've been living on my own. In fact, this is the first time in a long time that I've even been in an actual house." He looked around and admired what the older man owned.

Roy's eyes widened at what Ed had said and felt a sense of similarity between them. "I know how you feel. I was orphaned at a young age as well and grew up in a foster home." He said as he set the sandwich down on the table in front of Ed and sat down. "It sucks to not have parents or siblings."

Ed flinched and looked sullenly at his sandwich. "Thanks for the sandwich." He mumbled as he took a bite.

Roy studied him for a moment and decided that the kid had more to say but he wasn't telling. Roy wasn't going to pry into his personal life. He knew how that felt and he hated it when people tried it on him.

Roy looked up at the clock and his eyes widened. "Wow, look at the time! I have work in the morning." He looked back at Ed. "I have to get to sleep but I'll show you were the guest bedroom is." Roy stood after Ed took his last bite.

"It's upstairs, come on." Roy lead Ed up the stairs and down the hall until they came to the guest room on the left. "Well, here it is. Make yourself at home and there's a bathroom built into the room here, plus extra blankets in the closet there." He pointed to the closet that was in the guest room.

Ed looked around the room and walked over to his bed. "Thanks!" He said before plopping down onto the soft bed.

"No problem. See you in the morning I suppose." Roy fumbled for words then shook his head and left the room.

Ed watched him leave then turned his attention to the bathroom. He stood and walked into it, flipping on the light. He caught sight of himself in the mirror and wondered why Roy even let him into the house looking the way he did. His clothes had red stains and holes littered throughout them from being in the streets. His hair was an absolute mess and looked like it hadn't been washed in who knows how long. He even had bags under his sunken in golden eyes.

Maybe that was why Roy took him in. He just felt sorry for him because he looked like a total bum.

Ed sighed and closed the door to the bathroom. He dug around in his pocket and pulled out some strips of cloth then took his clothes off. "Well here goes nothing." He muttered out loud.

He clapped his hands together and slammed them onto the floor. A blue light flooded out over the room and Ed was thankful the door was shut. Once the light faded out, his clothes were mended.

He picked them up and put them on, frowning. "Better then having holes in them I guess but they still need a good washing." He turned out the lights and trailed back to the bed.

The moons light fluttered through the window and onto the bed where Ed had crawled into.

He sighed and stared at the ceiling. Every night the deep ache he had in his heart ate away at him, making the hole wider and wider. He missed his brother and wished he was still there with him.

He could still remember all the nights they'd stay up just talking about things and laughing together until they were shushed.

Ed rolled over, away from the moonlight shining in on him and away from the memories. He pulled his blankets up to his neck and stared into the darkness. "I miss you, Al."


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! Thanks for the reviews! It really makes me happy and helps move the chapters along. Hope you're enjoying this story so far! I'll try to update it as fast as I can but be patient, I want the chapters to be good so it may take a bit to write. Anyways, without further ado, here's chapter 2! Haha, that rhymed!**

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Roy woke to the moonlight filtering in through the blinds of the window. How early was it? He didn't even think his alarm had gone off yet. He sighed and rolled over onto his side to look at the clock which read 5:30 in the morning. "Err, why me?" He moaned to himself, "Why can't I just sleep through the night?" It was hopeless, once he was awake there was no going back to sleep.

He sat up in bed and ran a hand through his messy hair. He might as well get up, he decided. He felt like he pulled a muscle somewhere in his back and his feet hurt from standing on them for so long in the last few days for the murder cases. With a yawn, he stretched his arms out and started shuffling his feet to the bathroom to get a good look at himself.

He flicked the light on and frowned when he saw what greeted him in the mirror. "I'm starting to get bags under my eyes? Since when does that happen?" He asked in disbelief. He filled the sink with water and splashed his face a few times trying to wake himself up when he heard the phone ringing down stairs. "Who could that possibly be?" He grumbled as he walked to where the phone hung downstairs and picked it up at its final ring.

"Hello?" Roy's tired voice said into the phone.

"Hey Roy, it's Maes. I think we may have found a clue to the murder cases." He said in an excited tone of voice.

"What do you mean? What clue?" Roy asked, all feelings of tiredness now faded and gone. "Do you need me to come down to the station?" He asked quickly before the other man could interrupt him.

"Yeah, come down as soon as you can. Also, the higher ups just named this case the The Shadow. Catchy, isn't it?" Maes joked to him. "In all seriousness though, do try your best to get here as soon as you can, Buddy. Talk to you soon." Maes said before he hung up the phone.

Roy set the phone back onto its holder. "The Shadow, huh? Guess it fits. Hopefully this clue will narrow down just who this "Shadow" really is." Roy said out loud.

A noise alerted Roy to someone in the house. Instantly, he was on high alert. His fingers aimed in a snapping position, ready to fry whoever was stupid enough to intrude in his house. "Who's there? Show yourself now or you're going to get hurt." Roy stated as he scanned the kitchen for the intruder.

"It's just me!" Ed came around the corner with his hands held high and his golden eyes wide in fright.

"Oh kid, "Roy sighed, "You scared me." He said as he lowered his gloved hand. "Don't sneak up on me like that!. You could have gotten hurt." He eyed the boy. "What are you doing up at this hour anyways?" He asked as he took his gloves off and stuffed them into his pocket.

"I heard you get up and was curious what you were doing." Ed looked down, "I'm sorry..." He muttered to the floor as he slowly lowered his hands. He looked up into Roy's face, "Who's The Shadow anyways?" He asked.

"Clearly you overheard something you shouldn't have but if you must know, he's a cold blooded killer. My team and I are trying to hunt him down and put a stop to all of the killing." He explained.

Ed's eyes went even bigger at the mention of a murderer. "How many has he killed?" He asked after a moment.

Roy considered not telling the boy anymore then he had to but he figured it wouldn't hurt to tell him. Maybe then the kid would stay off the streets.

"He's killed at least twenty people we know of but we're still investigating about ten other cases that we suspect The Shadow killed." He noticed the fear on the boy's face and how he became tense. "Don't worry about it, okay? No one would be dumb enough to bother you while you're here." Roy tried to calm the child.

"But what about tomorrow? I won't be staying here then and I'll be out in the streets..." Ed looked up at Roy as if pleading him to answer his question.

Roy really wanted the kid to leave his house by tomorrow morning but did he really have the nerves to just throw the boy into the streets where a killer roams? Sadly, even he wasn't that heartless. Although it would be so much easier if he were heartless sometimes.

"No I'm not kicking you out into the streets. You can stay here until we find this killer and put a stop to him." Roy soothed his nerves. "Shouldn't you be getting back to bed?" He asked.

Ed frowned slightly, "I'm not tired that's why I got up in the first place." He said, "But I really didn't mean to spy on you though." He looked at the floor.

"It's okay, you didn't hear any classified information on the case. Just don't do it again, alright?" Roy said with a small smile as he looked down on the boy.

Ed seemed to consider what Roy had said then looked up at him with a grin. "Alright, deal!" He looked around, "So, got anything to eat?" He asked.

Roy looked at him in disbelief, "You're hungry again?" He asked in shock.

"Well the last meal we had was hours ago and I'm hungry again." He folded his arms across his chest. " I am a growing boy, you should know." He stated matter of factly.

"I very much doubt you're growing much. You're pretty tiny for your age, you know." Roy looked down at him as Ed's face became red.

Ed balled his fists at his sides and, to make matters worse, he had to look up to see Roy's face which didn't calm him at all. "I am not a tiny little kid! Take that back, old man!" He screeched nearly at the top of his lungs.

Roy didn't know what to say. He had been fine a minute ago and now the boy was having a raging fit. "Easy, easy! I didn't mean anything by it." Roy held up his hands in surrender. He had better things to do than argue with a child.

"I have work today." Roy decided to change the subject, "I hope you'll be okay without me?" He asked Ed.

Ed frowned at the mention of being alone but soon nodded. "I'll be okay, just leave me some food." He grinned.

Roy shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Fine, just don't destroy my house."

"Aw, you really think I'd be capable of doing that?" Ed looked up at him with innocent eyes and grinned.

"You have to remember, I don't know you hardly at all. I am putting a lot of trust into you not to destroy anything or get into any trouble. I expect you to respect my wishes."

Ed gave a toothy smile. "You sound like you're dying and letting me know what you want before you take your last breath!" He laughed.

Roy smiled. "Alright, alright. I get it, you think I'm old..." He joked. "Well, there's sandwich makings in the fridge and cupboards. Make yourself at home." Roy said as he headed back up to his room to change into his formal clothes.

Ed watched him retreat up the stairs and he frowned. What was he going to do here all alone for who knows how long?

Soon, Roy came trotting down the stairs and towards the door. "I'll be back as soon as I can. I may even bring some food home if you'd like." He smirked as he grabbed up his coat and slipped it on.

"Oh yeah! That's sounds so good!" Edward smiled brightly at the suggestion of food. His golden eyes danced with delight at the thought of digging into the sweet take out.

"While I'm out, you can take a shower and you can borrow some of my clothes while you wash the ones you have on." Roy frowned down at him. "You're a mess."

Ed scowled at that and folded his arms. "You don't look very good either, you know." Ed grumbled.

"Yeah, sure I don't." Roy laughed, "That's what all the women say to me." He smirked.

"Weirdo..." Edward scowled at Roy with narrowed golden eyes.

Whatever. See you soon kid." Roy laughed and went out the door, leaving Ed to his own.

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 **What do you guys think of it so far? Interesting? Let me know by leaving a review please! Thank you so much for reading and I'll see you in the next chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks for all the reviews! I'll try to keep posting as soon as I write the chapters. =) Here's chapter 3!**

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The cold wind hit Roy in the face as soon as the door shut behind him. He could tell winter was on its way. What a horrible time to have to deal with a murder case.

He trudged down the sidewalk heading for the big building. All the while thinking about what clue Maes may have uncovered.

Hopefully something that would break the case and let them find this "Shadow". However, Roy knew that was very unlikely to happen. He sighed, it seemed like these sorts of things always happened either in the rain or in the winter. Why couldn't someone kill in the summer?

Roy shook his head clear of those strange thoughts and focused on the building looming in front of him. He was almost at his office and about to see just what clue Maes had uncovered.

He took the stairs up to his office and walked through the doors, not expecting his team to be in yet. Which he was correct about. Too early for those lazy guys.

"Hello Sir" A female voice said from the corner, making Roy jump a little.

He turned and saw Hawkeye straightening some papers into a neat pile. "You scared me." He said to her and frowned. "Is Maes here yet? He told me to meet him here."

"I haven't seen him since yesterday. What did he want to talk to you about?" She asked as she dumped some papers onto Roy's already over piled desk.

Roy scowled deeply at the papers he had yet to work on in the past three days. He'd been bombed with so much paperwork he couldn't even keep up with it anymore.

Roy looked at Hawkeye. "It's a clue about the murder cases. Or I guess it's now called The Shadow Case." Roy sighed, "It feels like we never really get a break with this case. We can never get anyone to talk!" He told her in frustration.

"Don't worry about it so much, you have the best team on this case. You'll figure it out just as you always do. Besides, didn't you just say Maes found a clue? Maybe that's your break." She smiled at him as she sat back down at her desk.

Roy walked over to his desk and plopped down onto his chair. "I also have a kid staying at my name's Edward Elric." He said out of the blue.

Hawkeye looked at him and raised a brow. "A child? Why?" She asked in confusion. It wasn't like Roy to allow anyone in his house.

"He showed up at my doorstep asking for a place to stay. It was cold out and I couldn't just send him away so I let him stay." He set his face into his hands.

"Now it looks as if he's going to be staying for awhile since the murderer is still at large. I can't just send the kid out into the streets to fend for his own. He's just a little boy." Roy exhaled loudly. "But to be honest, I really don't know what to do with a kid around." He admitted as he looked up at Hawkeye.

She smiled at him. "I'm glad you took him in, Sir. I think you'll learn what to do with a kid. If you give them a chance, they can be pretty fun you know." She smiled at him.

"Yeah you're usually right." He gave in with a sigh. "I'll give it a try. I'm not much of a fatherly type of person though." Roy said.

"What does he look like?" Hawkeye asked him after a moment, "Have you tired finding his parents? I'm sure they're worried about him."

"He claims all his family died some years ago, leaving him to living life on the road." He told her.

"He also has these weird colored eyes I have never seen before. They're golden, kind of like a cat's eyes would be. They're kinda scary in a way, to be quite honest." He admitted.

"Hmm, I've heard of a race of people with brilliant golden eyes. I just can't recall the name of the race. They were supposed to have died out a long time ago." She stated.

"Well clearly not all of them died. Guess the kid's rather lucky then. I'm just surprised he's survived this long on his own out in the streets with murderers and who knows what else roaming about." Roy shook his head.

Hawkeye smiled, "Well then I guess he was pretty lucky he stumbled across your house and not someone else." She said.

Roy heard foot steps echoing along the hallway outside the office.

"Guess Maes must be here." He looked up at the door, waiting for his long time friend to come in.

Maes burst in through the door with a big grin on his face. "Hey buddy! Good morning!" He practically skipped over to Roy's desk, nodding to Hawkeye on his way.

"What's this big clue you were going on about already?" Roy stared at him, he didn't get up early for no reason.

Maes nodded, "I'm getting to that! Just hold your horses!" He sat down on the couch that was in the room. "Okay, so I manged to get a witness to talk-" He started.

"Okay? And what did they say?" Roy interrupted with peaked interest.

"I was getting to that!" Maes held up a finger as he took in a big breath. "So apparently they saw a guy named William Hawtorn stalking around the murder scene." He told Roy excitedly. "I think we have a suspect!" He beamed.

"Ya think?" Roy said, "Now we just need to find this William character and bring him in for questioning." Roy said with some thought. "Any idea where he lives?"

"Yeah, the witness gave me his address." Maes held out a piece of paper to Roy, which he took.

"South end of town? Shouldn't be too hard to find, there's not a lot of houses in that area." Roy said as he stood up. "Hawkeye, could you go and check on Edward for me please? I can't help but wonder what the kid is doing in my house..." Roy shook his head clear of the invading thoughts.

Hawkeye stood up and saluted him. "Yes Sir. Good luck on the suspect." She said as she dropped her hand at his nod.

"Thank you, see you soon." Roy started out the door, followed by Maes.

"Who's Ed? What's a kid doing in your house?" Maes asked quickly, "Who's kid is it?" He raised a brow.

"I've never known you to be a kidnapper." He joked with a toothy grin.

Roy frowned at him. "Do I really look like the type to steal someones kid? Trust me, if he had a family to go to. He'd be there." Roy said as they made it to the parking lot of the building.

"Guess we're taking your car then?" Roy asked Maes, "I walked here."

Maes shook his head and put his hands on his hips. "What am I going to do with you." He rolled his eyes and smiled. "Yeah we'll take my car." Maes unlocked it and got into the drivers seat.

Once Roy was in and shut the door, Maes turned on the engine of the car and started down the road. "So, you never did tell me about the kid in your house."

Roy glanced over at him, not really feeling like repeating the whole story to him. "Just some kid showed up at my house and had no where else to go so I let him stay." Roy briefly explained.

"That's not like you." Maes looked over at him, "What, are you thinking of maybe starting your own family soon? They're worth it you know!" He beamed at Roy.

Roy looked at him in shock, "How did you even come up with that?" Roy shook his head. "No way am I having kids. I'm just not the fatherly type." He set his head in his hand then leaned against the window.

"You don't need to be a certain type to be a good father. You just need to be willing to try." Maes smiled at him as he pulled down the street of the suspect.

"Good, we're here." Roy was relieved to have dodged that weird subject and get back to the matter at hand. He'd deal with the kid later. There were more important things to do now.

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 **Well what did you think? Let me know by leaving a review! Thanks again, I'll see you guys in the next chapter!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for taking a bit to upload this chapter. I wanted to fix a few things and make this story's foundation a little stronger, as suggested by a reader. Thank you for that as well! I hope it's a little better then the last chapter, I'm starting to get back into the groove of writing again.**

 **But before you get bored and shut the door, please proceed to chapter 4!**

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Hawkeye's aching hand held the pencil as she signed off on another paper. Her throbbing head was beating in time with her heart. She had been working on Roy's unfinished papers he had left behind when he went off with Mae's.

She rested her hand on the table and set the pencil down. She glanced up at the clock and sighed, her shift was now over. Exhaustion filled her and she was ready to leave. She stood and grabbed up her dark coat, slipping it onto her small frame and buttoning it up. She remembered she had to check on the kid Roy had let stay at his house.

She was still rather shocked at Roy's kindness towards the child. He had always sworn he would never deal with children. Too much work, he'd always said. She was glad that he had opened his house and heart for the orphaned child.

She always knew Roy had a good heart, as much as he tried to hide it. He'd always claimed he was never good with kids yet she'd seen him deal with children who had just lost their families to the war and how he gently spoke to them, trying to calm their raging emotions.

She could tell he'd make a wonderful father one day if he'd only give himself the chance to prove it.

She started for the door and walked down the stairs that led outside. Her footsteps fell onto the hard sidewalk as she started the short walk to Roy's house.

The wind brisked through her blonde hair, whipping it into her face and making her scowl. She had lost her hair tie earlier that day and was regretting it as she tucked the stray pieces behind her ear.

She glanced up into the sky and saw the dark, angry clouds that trailed their way through the sky, swallowing what little blue was left. She only hoped Roy put his gloves somewhere they would stay dry.

Her coat flapped at her as the wind blew into her again, making her speed up her pace as Roy's house came into view. It was an easily recognizable house with its red flame mail box and cheesy welcome mat on the porch.

She approached the door and rapped her hand against the hard surface, waiting for the person inside to come.

She heard footsteps sound through the house as they came to the door and carefully opened it. "Hello?" A voice greeted her.

"Hello, I'm a friend of Roy's. My name is Hawkeye, can I come in?" She asked gently as to not scare the child.

The boy opened the door a little wider and looked her over. "Yeah I guess you can come in." He stepped aside and gestured her indoors.

The child looked a lot different than she had imagined. The thing that shocked her was the sight of his golden eyes. They reminded her of a blazing fire, engulfing all that was near. They were both beautiful and scary all at once.

"Thank you." She said as she walked in just as the first of the rain drops fell onto the porch roof, sending pattering sounds into the house.

Edward didn't really know what to do when Hawkeye walked in. He hadn't dealt with too many women since his mother had died a few years back. He felt awkward as he stood by the door, looking up at the lady.

"Roy asked me to check in on you." Hawkeye's expression was of kindness, something Ed hadn't seen in a long time.

"Are you doing okay?" She asked him as she looked around the room. It looked the same as it always had, paperwork on the desk in the room and coffee mugs scattered around on all the tables.

Ed looked up at her, "Yeah I'm doing fine." He nodded hesitantly. "Do you work with Roy or something?" He asked her warily.

She nodded lightly and went to sit on the dark leather couch. The leather was cold as she sat on it, sending shivers up her back. Roy usually had a fire going, keeping the cold touch of the frigid air at bay.

Ed walked over and sat down on a chair opposite of Hawkeye. He intertwined his fingers and looked at her, waiting for her to break the silence. He always had been terrible at making small talk. He'd never been much of a people person.

"I'm Lieutenant Hawkeye, I've worked with Roy for many years now." She said. She didn't want to go into too much dept with her story of how Roy and her had met. She didn't want to scare him.

"So, Roy said your name was Edward, right?" She tried to get him to talk. "I used to know an Edward, he was really sweet and caring." She smiled sadly.

Ed looked at her expression and frowned. "What happened to him?" He asked as his curiosity was peaked.

"He was killed in the war. He saved many people with his sacrifice. Including my life." She said as her brown eyes went distant. "He jumped in front of me just as the enemy shot. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be here today." She said.

She glanced up at Ed. "But enough of that, lets try to get to know each other better." She said. "Where is your family?" She asked.

Ed scowled and looked down at his intertwined fingers. He hated talking about how his family died. It made his heart twist knowing there was nothing he could do to stop them from getting shot.

"They were a bad case of mistaken identity." He started, as the memories of that day washed over him, making him shiver.

"The soldiers showed up at our door and pounded their way through it." He said. "I can still remember the way the sound echoed through our house as they stomped their way in and looked for my parents." He stopped and took a breath.

"They aimed their guns at them, demanding they come with them. My parents said no as they tried to make their way towards me and my brother to protect us. They were shot for their troubles." Ed finished with closed eyes.

Hawkeye felt his pain. She remembered the day when her father had taken his last breath as he held her hand tightly. Her heart squeezed in her chest as strong as the day he died. She shook herself out of the memory and focused her attention back on Ed.

"You had a brother?" She asked as she took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "What happened to him?" She asked Ed.

Ed's eyes widened at his slip of the tongue and ducked his head. He didn't want to talk about his failure.

"I don't want to talk about him." He said softly as he clinched his fists.

Hawkeye could see the pain on his face and decided not to pry any further. "How about we go and make some hot chocolate to get your mind off of this?" She asked him as she rose from the couch and made her way into the kitchen.

She heard Ed following her. He stopped in the doorway and frowned. "Are you sure Roy wouldn't mind?" He asked her as she pulled down two hot chocolate packets.

"He's okay with it." She assured him kindly. "Here, you can make your own if you'd like." She handed him a mug and went back to the cupboard to get her own mug down.

Ed grabbed up the packet and ripped it open, spraying hot chocolate mix into his face and onto the floor. He looked wide eyed at the mess and looked up at Riza. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to..." He reached for a towel as Riza started laughing.

"It's okay, no need to get so worried over that." She smiled and pointed to his face. "You have the mix on your face" She snorted as she grabbed up a wet cloth and wiped the mix off of Ed's face softly.

Her kind touch reminded him of his mother's and it made his heart ache for his mother's warm embrace.

"Do you want me to make it for you this time?" She asked him as she washed out the cloth and folded it onto the counter.

He nodded and looked at the floor. It seemed all he could do was mess things up. He handed her the mug and wiped the moisture off of his face from the towel.

Hawkeye's lips curved upwards into a smile. Ed was cute with his big golden eyes and small frame. She always wanted a child but could never get married due to the regulations in the Military.

Ed was just standing there, like an invitation for her to see what it would be like to have a son.

"Are you hungry?" She asked him after pouring the hot chocolate mix into the mug and started stirring it up. The smell waded over the kitchen, making it feel homey and inviting.

Ed looked up at her and nodded. Why was this lady being so nice to him? She didn't even know him, nor what he had let happen to his little brother.

"What would you like to eat?" She gave him the choice, trying to help him fit in a bit. She knew kids liked to be involved with things. She wanted to slowly get to know him.

Ed thought for a moment, "I'm not real hungry so I guess just sausage and crackers for a snack." He said.

"How about you get the sausage and I'll get the crackers, okay?" She smiled when he nodded his head in agreement. She went for the crackers in the high cupboards while Ed pulled out the sausage from the cluttered fridge.

Ed set it down on the table and grabbed up a knife. While Hawkeye was busy with the getting the stubborn crackers opened he decided to get the sausage sliced up. He gently set the dull knife onto the meat and pressed down on it.

The knife didn't even make a mark as he pulled it away. Frowning, he tried again and pressed down harder this time. Hoping that the meat would give up its hopeless fight and let itself be cut.

He strained with the knife that was almost as dull as a butter knife and shoved his weight down on it.

He yanked back his flesh finger, "Ow!" He screeched as he watched the blood drip from his finger and onto the floor.

Hawkeye turned her head frantically at the sound of his yelp and her brown eyes widened. She rushed over and grabbed up a white hand towel. "Here, let me help you!" She pressed the towel over it, staining the once clean whiteness of the towel.

Ed flinched at the pressure she was putting on it. He hated it when people fussed over him. He hated feeling helpless at his own foolishness.

Hawkeye saw the look on his face but she couldn't tell if it was from the pain or from her being so close to him. "Come on, we have to get this patched up." She said, "I think there's a first aid kit in the bathroom." She gestured out of the kitchen door way.

Ed nodded as she drug him in the direction of the bathroom and she squatted down once she reached the bathroom sink. She glanced up at Ed, "Keep pressure on it while I find the first aid kit." She commanded him as she rummaged under the sink.

Ed tried to get his mind off of his finger as he examined the walls. They were an ugly beige color with white towels hung up around the bathroom. The floors were white and freshly swept, which Ed assumed Hawkeye did for Roy.

"I found it." Hawkeye said, snapping Ed's attention back onto her as she pulled out a small blue box and laid it down on the floor. She opened the lid and pulled out some bandages and some disinfectant spray.

She rose to her feet and unwrapped the towel from Ed's finger. She was happy to find it wasn't a deep cut and the bleeding had slowed to a trickle.

"How's it feeling?" She asked him tenderly as she wiped away some of the blood.

"It's okay." He answered her as he watched her raise a small bottle to his finger and she locked eyes with him.

"This might hurt a little." She warned as she sprayed some of the disinfectant spray onto it, earning her a quick flinch from Ed.

She smiled softly at him and rubbed his back in soothing circles. "It should start feeling better soon." She promised. "Now how about that hot chocolate I told you about?" She asked as she put away the first aid kit.

He nodded and waited for her to finish before heading back to the kitchen where blood had dried onto the table. He scowled, he was sure Roy wouldn't like what he found when he got home. Ed was pretty sure he ruined the sausage.

"Here," Hawkeye spoke in a gentle tone, making him look at her. She held out a mug of the now cooler hot chocolate. "This one had cooled off a bit, do you still want it?" She asked him.

"Yeah." He took it from her hands and cradled the mug in his hands. The heated glass warmed his flesh hand, making him wish he could feel its toasty embrace in both hands instead of cold hard metal that pressed against the glass. "Thanks." He mumbled softly to Hawkeye.

"You're welcome Ed." She said as she poured herself a mug and took a sip. She closed her eyes as if it was the best thing she'd drank all day. She reopened her eyes and looked out the window above the sink.

"It's really raining out. I hope Roy put his gloves in a dry spot, he's useless without those gloves" She thought out loud.

"Why does he need gloves? Is he that ancient that his hands get cold or something?" He asked her as he glanced out the window beside her. It was raining cats and dogs out there. He was grateful he was inside with a mug of hot chocolate instead of getting pelted by the rain.

Hawkeye looked away from the window and back at Ed. "He uses those gloves to create a spark in which he uses for his Flame Alchemy." She started to explain, "If those get wet-"

"Oh I get it," Ed interrupted her, "If they get wet then he can't create his fire and can't use his Alchemy." Ed finished for her.

He realized his mistake and looked guiltily down at the floor. "Sorry for interrupting you."

Hawkeye shook her head, "It okay. But yes you're right. He's useless in the rain and usually never thinks ahead until a fight comes up and he's left soaked to the bone unable to defend himself." She scowled at the fat drops falling to the ground as if they'd give up their attempt to flood the earth and go back to the heavens again.

"I hope he'll be okay." She sighed.

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 **Well what did you guys think of it? Was it better? Please let me know how I did and how I can become a better writer by leaving a review! Thanks so much! It really helps me write faster and it motivates me to continue writing even if I don't feel like it. Thanks again!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello! Sorry it took so long to post a new chapter. This one's kinda short and to the point, I usually write the chapters a little longer but I couldn't think of anything more to say. I'll try harder on the next chapter!**

 **Hope you enjoy this little thing!**

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The rain was pouring now, sending Roy's mood farther down with every drop that hit his face. He looked up at the old two story building. "This is the place, huh?" He asked Maes.

"Yup! You getting excited that we may just put an end to all the murders?" He grinned as he looked to the house. He didn't wait for Roy's answer. "You ready?" He asked.

"More then ready. I've been waiting to deal this guy months of hurt for all the people he's killed." He said as they both started walking up to the house. The old stained white picket fence was the first thing to greet them. The wind blew the squeaky broken gate back and forth across the pathway up to the house. Maes looked at Roy. "Looks like a house a murderer would live in, doesn't it?" He asked as they stepped up onto the warped boards of the porch.

"Ready?" Maes asked Roy. Roy nodded and knocked loudly on the door. "This is Colonel Roy Mustang with Detective Maes Hughes, we need to speak with you on the account of the murders that have taken place lately." Roy said.

They could hear foot steps thumping through the house as they neared the door and it opened. "Yes?" A man asked.

He wasn't really what Roy had expected, not that he had really expected anything. The man was well dressed, despite the shape of his house and front yard. He had slicked back black hair and small glasses upon his nose. "What can I help you with?" The man asked.

"Are you William Hawthorn?" Maes asked with slight confusion at the way the man was dressed. "We need to speak with him"

"Yes, I am William Hawthorn but I have no idea on what murders you're talking about." He swallowed and his beady eyes danced around.

Roy frowned, something about the man was a bit off. Roy looked at Maes, hoping he knew more then he did.

"Can we come in and talk for a moment?" Maes asked the man politely. "We won't be long."

The man shifted his weight a bit then sighed, "Yes I suppose you could come in for a moment." He stepped out of their way and invited them in.

The inside looked way different than the outside did, with clean white carpet and brown leather furniture.

"Come and sit, just make sure to wipe your shoes before stepping onto the carpet." William said as he sat down lightly on a brown leather chair and laced his fingers together.

Meas exchanged a look with Roy before they both wiped their shoes and walked in. They both sat down on a matching brown leather couch.

"Have you heard about the murders that took place just a few days ago here in Central?" Roy asked the man.

"No I haven't. I have been here in my house, I haven't been outside in a while. Germs and all, nasty little things." He picked up a bottle of hand sanitizer and offered them a bit.

"No thank you." Roy said as he waved away the bottle. This man was a nutter.

"We have a witness that places you at the scene of the murder, Mr. Hawthorn." Maes spoke up.

"What? Absurd. I never went anywhere near a body." His eyes were darting around and he was starting to sweat a little.

"You know Sir. I have been trained in reading people, and right now, your body language is telling me you're lying. " Maes said.

William sighed and leaned heavily back into the chair. "Fine, I knew this would catch up with me someday." He started.

"I did go out on the night of the murder" He looked up at Maes, "But not to kill anybody."

"Okay then, why did you go out?" Roy asked, getting frustrated at the lack of answers the man was giving them.

"I went to a bar called the Running Horse. It's a place where the um, the less desirable people like to hang out at." He said. "I went there to hire someone to watch my, now, ex-wife. I feared she was cheating on me but I had to be certain of it." He said.

"Go on." Maes urged him.

William sighed. "So I sat down at the bar and waited until a man by the code name of The Reaper sat down beside me. At first, I thought he might be what I was looking for but I soon came to realize that he only dealt with murdering people and I wasn't looking to hurt my ex-wife." He told them.

"The Reaper, huh? What did he look like?" Maes asked.

William started thinking. "Well, I didn't see his face because he was wearing a hat. I did hear his voice though." William said.

"He sounded like a younger man, not an older gentleman like myself. If I had to guess his age, I'd say he looked about twenty or so." He said.

"Doesn't really give us much to go on, does it?" Roy said. "Do you recall anything else?"

"When he stood to walk away, I noticed a flash of something. I think it was a bracelet, it looked like it had a symbol of some type on it." William told them. "I also overheard that he was on a job to kill a woman."

"Why didn't you report it to the police!" Roy snapped at him with narrowed onyx eyes.

"Because I'm not one to get involved with people such as him. If you get into those kinds of people's business, you tend to not walk away from it." William said.

"Do you remember anything else?" Maes asked.

"That's all I can recall, however, the bartender might have more information on The Reaper. I think the bartender's name was Frank Hemway, speak to him. He might be able to tell you more." William said as he stood.

"Sorry I couldn't be more help to you and I am even more sorry that I got myself mixed up in this mess. All of this just to confirm my suspicions of my wife cheating on me." He sighed sadly.

"I did see the body of that poor woman though. She was really a mess, I wish now I would have done something to stop it." William said with a scowl. "I truly am sorry."

"No Mr. Hawthorn, you've helped us out a lot. Thank you." Maes said as he and Roy stood to leave. "We'll be on our way now, thank you for your time."

They shut the door and headed for the car. The rain was coming down even harder now but neither Maes or Roy seemed to care much. They just got the biggest lead on the case yet.

"Well, what do you make of this Reaper character?" Mae's asked as he dodged a mud puddle. "Sounds like The Shadow is actually known as The Reaper."

"Shadow, Reaper, whoever he is, we'll get him." Roy said, "I promise you that."

"Oh we'll get him all right! Not even Scar could hide from us." Mae's agreed. "Now we just need to figure out who he really is and the best place to start is The Running Horse Bar." Maes said as he climbed into the drivers seat.

"Well lets go then." Roy said as he sat down in the passengers seat and shut the door.

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 **Well even if it is was a little short, what did you think of it? Please review! Thank you, see you in the next chapter!**

 **And for fans of A Cat's Story, I am working on the next chapter to it!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry for the wait! Thank you to all my readers, you inspire me to want to write! Here's an early Christmas gift to you. Hope you enjoy this chapter and have a wonderful Christmas!**

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Hawkeye looked away from the window and sighed. She'd always had a feeling Roy would someday find himself in trouble he couldn't handle and he'd get hurt.

He was always chasing the most dangerous criminal Central had to offer. She smiled to herself as she thought of how Roy had stepped up and taken in an orphaned boy. Something he would have never done had she not said she wanted him to be more compassionate towards people in need.

"Whatcha thinking about?"

She glanced over at the blond boy who had interrupted her thoughts and smiled. She was glad Roy had taken Ed in. She would get her chance to be a mother, even if for a short while.

"Just about how happy I am that Roy's starting to help people who are in need." She explained as she squeezed her warm mug of hot chocolate tighter, sending its warmth through her hands. She knew Roy had a warm heart just by that rare smile he'd give her and the loving look in his eyes.

"I thought he already did help people?" Ed frowned, "Isn't that his job?" He looked up at her with curious golden eyes.

"Yes but he usually only helps people who have already passed on. Like that woman who was murdered a few days ago by The Shadow." She said, feeling her heart clench in sadness for the family that woman had left behind.

Ed seemed to understand as he stopped asking questions and instead went to dump his mug into the sink, he had to stand tippy toed just to reach it.

She watched him with muted interest. Ed was just a small child and he'd already had such a hard life with his family being taken from him at such an early age.

She recalled how hard it had been to watch the light dwindle from her fathers brown eyes as he took his last breath. It broke her heart thinking of all the hardships Ed must have been through wandering the streets of Central and how he had no family to call upon in times of need.

Ed silently watched Hawkeye's face sadden and he frowned. He hated seeing people sad. He looked at the floor and thought for a moment.

Hawkeye raised a brow at his sullen expression before Ed looked up from the floor and caught her eye.

"Why are you staring at me?" Ed frowned at Hawkeye and crossed his arms against his chest as a huffy expression came on.

She couldn't help the smile that shun when he did that and she covered it with the back of her hand. "Sorry." She took a breath and let it out. "Just your facial expression." She held back a giggle as Ed's face became a brighter shade of red.

"What's so funny about my face?" He frowned at her. "Huh?" He raised a brow.

At that, Hawkeye started laughing as Ed tried to maintain the weird expression before giving up. All anger drained from his face as his arms fell to his sides and he cracked a smile. "Was it that funny looking?" He asked.

She nodded as she tried to calm herself down, she couldn't speak without laughing.

"So, is this funny then?" Ed's eyes became bigger and they nearly popped out of his skull while he stuck his tongue out.

Hawkeye's eyes closed in another spew of laughter. Her cheeks hurt from the big grin that spread across her normally serious face. Her stomach clenched in protest to her laughing and she bent over, holding her stomach as each wave of laughter overtook her.

"How 'bout this?" Ed grabbed his cheeks and pulled them upwards in a cheesy grin before dropping them and broke out laughing.

Hawkeye took heaving breaths. The pains in her stomach were fading as she wiped a tear that had been squeezed out. "Oh Ed, I haven't laughed that hard in a long time." She breathed out and sighed. She wished she could be this carefree all the time.

A loud sound flooded in from outside, echoing through the house and into their ears. Hawkeye jerked her head around towards the door. Her hand went to her holster. All previous humor now gone.

She stood and drew her gun as her face became serious. She walked towards the door, her footsteps creaked against the floorboards as she swung her gun around. Her eyes alert and her finger on the trigger, she knew that sound from anywhere.

Ed watched her with wide eyes as he tailed behind her, trying to keep quiet.

Hawkeye glanced back at him, wishing he would stay in the kitchen where it was save but she didn't dare break the looming silence that befell the house. She crept to the door and took a deep breath, calming her rising nerves, before she yanked open the door.

Her chocolate eyes fell on the bloody scene on the sidewalk just as a figure in red caught her attention. She set her sights on the retreating figure. Her heart was racing as she gripped her gun tighter. "Stop or I'll shoot you!" She shouted through the pelting rain.

The man froze and turned half his face to her. A smirk overtook him before he resumed running again.

"Hold it!" Hawkeye yelled.

The man kept running. His red cloak bellowing out behind him.

Hawkeye took a deep breath and held it as she squeezed the trigger. The shot echoed through the air as the bullet hit its target. The man pressed his hand against his leg and hobbled down an alley, out of sight.

She lowered her gun and sighed. Her one chance to stop him failed. She turned her eyes back on the bloody scene on the sidewalk. She heard Ed gasp behind her and she turned to look at him. "Ed, go wait in the house." She said grimly.

Ed nodded, peeling his eyes away from the scene. He went inside, staying at the door frame and watched Hawkeye with wide eyes.

Hawkeye shifted her gaze back to the sidewalk. She scanned the bloody body of a young man. He was laying awkwardly on his belly, showing the crimson on the back of his head.

The rain pattered against the mans shirt, turning it a deep blue as the rain soaked in. The blood ran down his throat and puddled with the rain.

She holstered her gun and squatted down, scanning the body. Her eyes fell on the single bullet hole in the back of the man's head. Blood seeped out, plastering the man's shaggy black hair to his scalp.

She noticed the knife wounds on his face, painting delicate lines of red over his cheeks. She frowned and stood up. She needed to report it and get the Crime Scene Investigators out there. She made her way back inside and saw Ed, who looked in horror at the body before she shut the door.

She rested her hand softly on Ed's shoulder and lightly smiled. "Come on, it'll be okay. I'm here, that man won't be back" She carefully guided him back into the kitchen where the phone rested. She knew Ed was probably in shock. He had probably never even seen a body in the papers, yet alone in person.

"Sit here," She said gently, "I'll make you more hot chocolate." She said as she pulled out a chair. "It'll help calm your nerves." She smiled at him. She knew from experience that a cup of hot chocolate wouldn't make you forget the blood leaking from a mans chest as his sightless eyes stare back at you.

Ed shook his head and held his hands over his mouth. "I think I'm gonna be sick!" He mumbled, racing to the bathroom and skidded onto his knees to the toilet.

Hawkeye rushed after him as she heard sounds of him throwing up. She slowly walked in and frowned at the mess of blond hair hanging over the toilet. She remembered her first encounter of a body and how her stomach screamed in agony over what she had seen.

Ed heaved into the toilet, his stomach demanding that all memory be erased.

Hawkeye walked over to him and knelt down, she carefully grabbed up his loose hair and held in one hand. With her free hand, she rubbed his back in soothing circles, trying to calm him. It broke her heart to think someone as young as him had to see what he just did. The thought of two innocent peoples lives being changed forever enraged her.

Ed stopped throwing up and took deep breaths, trying to calm his nerves. He wiped the vomit off his lips and closed his eyes with a shudder. "Why would someone do that to another human being?..." He whispered.

Hawkeye grimaced at the question, "There's a lot of evil in this world, Ed. Some of them feel it's their right to be able to take lives whenever they want." She looked down at him. "That's why people like Roy and I have these jobs, to protect people like you." She smiled lightly at him. She felt her heart clench in her lie. She had taken more lives than she had ever saved.

He looked up at her with his golden eyes and sighed. He pushed himself away from the toilet and fell into her lap. His face went red as he shoved himself away from her.

She smiled as she stood. "Are you feeling any better?" She asked softly. Noting his pale face and glazed eyes.

He nodded his head as he stood and stared at the floor. "Yeah, a little." He muttered quietly.

"Come on, lets go back into the kitchen. I'll make you that mug of hot chocolate after I report the murder." She gestured out of the bathroom. She walked back to the kitchen while Ed tailed silently behind her.

She pulled out a chair and smiled at him. "Come and sit here." She said. The look of shock on Ed's face was all too familiar to her.

Ed nodded and plopped down on the chair, staring at the table without a word.

Hawkeye sighed, she knew there was nothing she could do to erase the horror he had seen. She walked to the phone hanging on the wall and picked it up. She dialed Headquarters. A woman answered on the second ring.

"Hello, you've reached the Military. What's your emergency?" The woman asked quickly.

"This is Lieutenant Hawkeye, there's been a shooting. I suspect it was The Shadow..." She said darkly.

"What's the location, Ma'am?" The woman asked.

"Just outside of Colonel Roy Mustang's house." Hawkeye said, glancing at Ed who was still staring blankly at the table.

The woman clacked nosily on her keyboard. "Alright Ma'am, I'll send an Investigations Unit out. Do you also want me to contact the Colonel?" The woman asked.

"Yes. And hurry up before the rain washes away more evidence." She commanded.

"Yes Ma'am, I'm on it." The woman said and hung up.

Hawkeye stared at the phone with a scowl and hung it up. She looked back at Ed and walked over to him, resting her hand on his shoulder and smiled down at him.

Ed looked up at her momentarily before staring at the table again.

She frowned, knelling down to his level. ""We will find out who did this and we will catch him." She met his golden eyes. "We will find The Shadow." She promised.

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 **Thank you for reading! Please let me know how this chapter was by leaving a review! Thank you again!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry it's been so long since updating! I kinda lost track of time...As my apology, here's the next chapter!**

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Mae's and Roy pulled up to the Running Horse Bar and slowed to a stop, the windshield wipers flapping nosily over the windshield. Rain pounded against the roof of the car as they peered outside at the flickering lights of the Running Horse Bar sign.

"Nice looking place, eh?" Maes looked at Roy with a grin as he turned the engine off. "Well, you ready to go in?" He asked Roy.

"Yeah, about as ready as I'll ever be I suppose." Roy grumbled as he glared at the down pour. He shoved his dry gloves into his pocket to shield them from the rain. "Lets go." He said as he climbed out and slammed the door.

The rain assaulted Roy in the face, pulling his black hair down into his face and making him frown even deeper as they both rushed over to the door and yanked it open.

Smells of vomit and beer punched them in the face, making them want to add to the scent of puke.

"This place reeks." Roy stated the obvious as he glanced around the place.

Two men were passed out over their tables, split beer dripping on the floor. In a corner, two big guys were arm wrestling while a small crowd cheered them on.

"Where do we start?" Roy asked as he retrieved his dry gloves from his pocket and put them on.

Mae's eyed the gloves. "Well, we're going to start off talking to the bar tender like William said." Mae's answered then pointed to Roy's gloves. "And you're not gonna use those unless we get attacked by this whole bar. Got it?" He looked Roy in the eyes.

Roy sighed, "Fine." He shoved his hands into his pockets and walked towards the bar tender who was drying a glass.

"Excuse us," Mae's jumped in front of Roy, "We're looking for a Mr. Frank Hemway. Do you know where we could find him?" Mae's asked politely, as if making a point to Roy to be kind to people.

"Well you just found him." Frank smiled as he set the glass down on the table. "What can I help you two with?" He asked.

Roy eyed the fancy black suit Frank wore. It didn't seem to fit in with all the drunks, it was too clean. Although, Roy thought, the long untrimmed beard did seem to fit in with the crowd.

"We're with the Military, we're investigating the murders that have taken place in Central over the last few months." Mae's said.

"You might know the man we're looking for by the name of The Reaper." Roy added quickly, snapping himself out of the scrutiny he was giving Frank.

"Shh! He might be around!" Frank hushed them, putting a finger up to his lips. "Come with me." He gestured for them to follow him into the backroom where the alcohol was stored.

They followed him in and Frank shut the door. "How do you know about The Reaper?" He eyed them warily.

"William Hawthorn told us about him and that he had over heard the man talking about murdering a woman. We believe the woman he was talking about was the one that was murdered a few nights ago." Roy explained. "We need information on this man if we are to stop these murders." He told him.

"Please Sir, tell us what you know." Mae's pleaded with him.

Roy narrowed his eyes. He'd encountered people like Frank before. The ones who knew everything but acted as though they knew nothing. They were the ones that annoyed him the most.

Frank crossed his arms and let out a dreary sigh. "I don't know much. I only know that the man was hired to kill that woman." He explained.

"Hired? By who?" Mae's frowned, "Can you tell us more about the men who hired him?"

"Not really. They were a bunch of big looking guys in fancy suits. Looked like the type of people who never lift a finger to work, much less kill someone with their own two hands. Guess that's why they hired The Reaper." Frank said.

"Do you know who The Reaper might be working for?" Roy asked after a moment of thought.

"Sadly, I don't. There's so many people who hire guns to take care of people in this bar, I wouldn't even know where to start." Frank shook his head sadly.

"This bar has gone down hill over the last few years and we can't exactly kick people out. We need the money to make repairs on the bar and plus, you don't get on these people's bad side." Frank said.

"Wish I could've helped you out a little more." Frank said, "But I have to get going back to work. I'm sure there's people waiting for more beer and I don't need a fight starting in here."

"One more thing. Can you make a list of potential people that could've hired The Reaper?" Roy asked, holding up a hand to stop the man from leaving.

"Yeah I guess I could do that but it'll take me some time." Frank said as he eyed Roy's gloved hand in front of him.

"It always takes time..." Roy muttered, "Wish things could go faster..." He grumbled. Time meant paperwork, one of the very things he hated most.

"Ignore my partner. Thank you very much for your help, Mr. Hemway." Mae's said gratefully. "We'll be awaiting your list." Mae's said with a kind smile.

"Hopefully we can nail this Son of a bitch before he kills again." Roy hissed as he lowered his hand so Frank could leave.

Roy looked at Frank as he started walking away. "Frank, before you go, do you remember what The Reaper was wearing or any details of what he looked like?"

Frank paused and turned back to Roy with a thoughtful look. "You know, I do remember The Reaper wearing a red cloak if that helps any?" He asked.

"A red cloak? Doesn't give us much to go on." Roy crossed his arms and frowned. "Do you happen to remember The Reaper wearing any black clothing?" He asked. He remembered the black cloth he had found at the murder scene.

Frank shook his head, " 'Fraid not." He looked them over, waiting for any more questions. "If that's all, I really have to be getting back to the front." He gestured to the door.

Roy dismissed Frank with a nod and looked to Mae's. "Well, that doesn't help us much." He said.

"We're slowly building a picture and it won't be long before we know who this 'Reaper' really is." Mae's said with a smile. "Come on, lets get out of this dump."

Roy sighed and gave a small nod.

They walked out of the back room and made their way through the droves of people to the door.

"I think that was a big waste of time." Roy muttered to Mae's as they stepped outside under the overhang of the building, shielding them temporarily from the rain.

"Not really, Frank's going to make that list. Maybe the answers to our prayers will be on that list." Mae's said hopefully.

"Yeah I hope you're right but until then, I guess we'll have to do our own research on the people in this bar." Roy said as he glared at the big drops of rain crashing to the ground a few inches from his boots.

"I have to get home. I almost forgot about the kid staying at my house, who know's what he's done to it..."Roy shuddered and sighed. He felt so tired, all he really wanted was sleep. But he knew very well that when it came to murder investigations, sleep was something that rarely happened.

"Get in the car, I'll drive you. No sense in walking home in this mess." Mae's told him as they both got into the car. "I want to meet this kid, so I'm coming to your house." Mae's grinned as they pulled away from the bar and started driving.

"Guess I have no choice." Roy said. "Won't you wife wonder where you are?" Roy asked, hoping that would convince Mae's to go home.

"Nah, I let her know that I might stop at your place after work." He laughed,"I thought ahead!"

"Great. Now I'm stuck with two bone heads..." Roy moaned to himself and rubbed his fore head, as if that would help settle his irritation.

"Don't worry Roy, it'll be fun!" Mae's beamed at him as they pulled into Roy's driveway and parked.

Roy nearly jumped out of his seat when he saw the flashing red and blue lights outside of his house. He leaned up to peer out the window at the police line around the sidewalk.

"Crap, what did the kid do now?..." Roy muttered softly.

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 **Let me know how this chapter was by leaving a review! Thank you!**


	8. Chapter 8

Roy stormed into the house, knocking the door against the wall and looking around furiuously. "Where the hell is he?" Roy demanded, walking into the kitchen.

His seething onyx eyes landed on the blond headed boy sitting on a chair.

He marched over to him, "What the hell is going on here? Why are the Police outside my house? What have you done!?" Roy yelled with balled fists.

Edward looked up at him. "I didn't do anything!" He promised, "There was a-"

"Don't give me that!" Roy interrupted with a hiss, "What did you do that was so bad that the cops had to be called?" He glared down at the boy.

Edward took a deep breath and looked up at him with heated eyes. "If you'd let me finish! There was a murder." He said then looked away. "Ass." He muttered.

Roy narrowed his eyes at Ed's last remark then looked at Hawkeye. "What happened here?" He asked, trying to calm himself.

Hawkeye stepped forward with crossed arms. "Well, Sir. There was a murder outside, I shot the murderer in the leg but he still manged to get away." She reported curtly without emotion. She stared at Roy.

Roy frowned at the look Hawkeye was giving him and sighed. "What?" He finally asked.

Hawkeye gestured towards Ed who was looking sullenly at the wall with folded arms.

Roy sighed and dropped his crossed arms against his side. He walked closer to Ed. "Look, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that." He said.

Ed looked up at him with a scowl. "Whatever." He quickly looked away. "Did you really think I'd do something to get the cops called?" He asked.

"Well, it's not like I really know you or anything." Roy said, looking down at the boy.

Edward snapped his head toward Roy and glared at him. "Well I wouldn't!" He stood up from his chair and stormed past Roy.

"Where are you going?" Roy called, jogging after him. "This is a murder investigation, you can't just leave." He said.

Edward glanced at Roy but kept walking. "I'm not leaving. I'm just going to my room." He said, making his way up the stairs.

He stopped and looked down at Roy. "Don't bother me unless it has something to do with the murder." He hissed then turned and walked up the stairs towards his room.

Roy flinched when he heard the door to Ed's room slam shut and he sighed. This was one of the reasons he didn't want children.

He felt a hand rest on his shoulder and he turned his head, meeting Mae's eyes.

"Don't feel bad buddy. Kids do this, it's normal." Mae's said, "Just go and talk to him later." He patted Roy on the back as if trying to reassure him.

Roy frowned. "Not my kid and not my place to make him feel better. He's lucky he's still under my roof." He said.

Mae's smiled, "You'll think differently when you get to know him, I'm sure." He said. "But in the mean time, I got some finger prints from the scene of the crime and they've been sent in for testing. Hopefully we'll finally get The Reaper." He said.

Roy nodded, "I hope so. Then everything can go back to being the same." He said, glancing upstairs with a sigh.

Mae's frowned. "You know Roy, you should really give the kid a chance. Take him out for a doughnut or something, get to know him. I can deal with things here." He said.

Roy shook his head, "I can't just leave." He said, running his hands through his shaggy black hair with a dreary sigh.

"Oh come on, Roy Boy! I can handle things here. You've been stressed out lately and haven't had a break from work in ages. Go have some fun and get to know the kid." Mae's insisted and gave Roy a shove towards the stairs with a grin.

"Alright already!" Roy held his hands up in the air in surrender, "I'll go." He turned towards Mae's, "But if you hear anything, and I mean anything, come and find me." He said.

Mae's rolled his eyes, "Yeah yeah, you worry wart. Go and have fun! Work will still be here when you get back."

"Fine but I'm only doing this for a break." Roy grumbled then turned and walked up the stairs, stopping outside Edwards room.

Roy hesitated before knocking on the door. He heard shuffling inside before Ed called out.

"What?"

Roy flinched at the harshness of the boy's voice. "Can I come in?" He asked. He felt funny having to ask to go into his own spare room.

"Whatever. Come in."

Roy opened the door and stepped in. His eyes landed on Ed sitting on the bed with a scowl.

"What do you want?" Ed hissed, folding his arms as he glared at Roy.

Roy walked further into the room, stepping over Ed's scattered clothes on the floor. "I was wondering if you'd like to come with me to get a doughnut or something." He asked.

Ed raised an eyebrow, "A doughnut?"

Roy nodded, "I'm hungry. So you want to or not?" He asked.

Ed sighed and let his arms drop. "Fine." He stood and grabbed up his boots before plopping back down onto the bed.

Roy's eyes fell on Ed's socks, "Shouldn't you change those? You've been wearing them for a while." He commented.

Ed spared him a quick glance before pulling on his boots. "No, I don't have any others to change into." He muttered.

Roy frowned. He supposed it did make sense that the boy didn't have extra socks, being that he had lived in the streets.

"Well I'll get you some today," He looked at Ed's dirty gloves, "Along with some new gloves." He gestured to Ed's gloved hands.

"I'm fine you know, I don't need you to baby me." He stood up from the bed and walked to the door. He looked back at Roy, "You coming?"

Roy nodded and followed. What had he done to get such a stuck up little brat?

They walked outside as the rain poured onto them, soaking into their clothes and dripping water into their faces.

They hurried into the car as the wind blew a gust of rain into their faces just before they slammed the doors shut.

Roy started up the car and pulled into the street, "Any place you like the best?" He asked Ed who was staring out the window.

Ed glanced over at Roy, "Not really."

"Okay." Roy said before they fell into silence. He tapped his finger against the steering wheel, looking over at Ed every once in a while trying to figure out what to say.

Finally Ed rolled his eyes and let out a big sigh. "Okay, what do you want to talk about?"

"I don't know. Why don't you ever take off your gloves and coat?" Roy asked, trying to gain some info on the boy.

Ed scowled, "Because I happen to like this coat!" He growled. "Not sure why it's such a crime to wear it around."

"It's not a crime but don't you ever get hot?" Roy asked as he took a left turn.

"Well, considering it's been raining non stop, I think I'm quite happy to wear it." He said, turning his head to look out the window.

Roy took it as a sign to let it go. He pulled the car into the parking lot of Donald's Doughnuts.

"Well, here we are." He stated the obvious, "You ever been here before?" He asked.

Ed shook his head, "No, I never really came around to this part of Central. Are the doughnuts pretty good?" He asked, peering up at the glowing sign of the shop.

"Oh yeah they're good. My favorite is the cream filled." Roy said, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. "Come on. Lets go in."

They got out and hurried into the shop. They ordered a cream filled and a chocolate doughnut before finding a seat.

"I'm not that great at small talk so don't expect much from me." Roy stated, picking up his doughnut and taking a small bite from it.

Ed shrugged, "I've never been good at small talk either. My brother on the other hand-" Ed clamped his mouth shut and looked down at his plate.

Roy frowned. He had heard Edward mention his brother several times.

"What happened to your brother? Where is he?" Roy asked, watching Ed's expression go from alarmed to sadness to blank all in less than a minute.

"I don't want to talk about it." Ed looked up at Roy, "Can we change the subject?" He asked with a small smile.

Roy nodded. He was determined to figure out the story one of these days but he didn't want to push Ed too far.

"Sure, we can talk about something else." Roy smiled lightly before taking another bite of his doughnut.

"Thanks." Edward smiled then took a giant bite out of his doughnut. "Dis is so good!" He mumbled around his food. His cheeks were puffed up and he looked like he was about to explode.

"Don't talk with your mouth full!" Roy corrected him just as the server lady came to their table with a bright smile.

"Can I help you with anything? Does your son need any napkins?" She asked.

Roy and Ed froze then looked at each other with a baffled look.

"Uh, he's not my son. And no, we're fine. Thank you." Roy said with a charming smile, making the server lady blush before walking away.

Edward swallowed and watched as the server lady walked off. "How the hell did she mistake us for father and son?"

"No clue. We look, and act, nothing alike." Roy said, "I'm also much more handsome than you and better with the ladies." He smirked.

Ed glared at him, "You wish." He rolled his golden eyes.

"Oh yeah? How many women have you been with?" He challenged with a grin, knowing he'd win.

Edward looked at him with a thoughtful look then frowned. "None of your business." He said, folding his arms and looking away.

Roy let out a laugh, "Thought so."

"Shut it, Pyro!" Edward hissed at him.

"Pyro? That's a new one. Never been called that before." Roy said, picking up the check and reading it.

"Yeah? I know something you have been called before. Probably many times too." Ed said, looking back at Roy.

Roy glanced at him. "Oh yeah? What's that then?" He asked.

"Old man." Ed grinned at him.

Roy narrowed his eyes, "Oh it's on now, cat boy!" He said.

"Cat boy? I hate cats! Why are you calling me that?" Edward asked heatedly.

"Because your eyes look like cat eyes, that's why." Roy stood up, grabbing the check and heading for the counter to pay. He glanced behind him, waiting for Ed to follow.

Edward glanced down at his half eaten doughnut. He frowned before picking it up and stuffing it into his mouth as he trotted over to Roy.

Roy rolled his eyes as he handed the cashier the money then started out to the car again. They got in before the rain pelted them too much.

Just as they were about to pull out of the driveway, a soldier came running up to the window. The young man knocked on it with squinted eyes trying to block out the rain.

Roy rolled down the window, "What is it?" He asked curtly.

The man saluted. "Sir. I was sent to get you, we have new evidence on who killed the man outside of your house, along with the victims name." He explained quickly.

"Alright, thank you. You're dismissed." Roy said.

The soldier saluted once more before hurrying off to get out of the rain.

Roy sighed with relief, "Finally, somewhat of a break in this case." He looked at Ed with bright eyes, "Maybe we can finally get this bastard!" He said with a grin.

Ed nodded quietly, his eyes wide in wonder.

"What's got you so silent all of the sudden, Cat Boy?" Roy smirked at him as they pulled out of the parking lot, heading for Central Command.

Ed looked at Roy and frowned, "Nothing. And would you stop calling me that!" He hissed. "Damn old man..." He muttered.

Roy chuckled as they pulled up to Central Command. He looked at Ed, "Well, you get to meet my team." He said. "This should be interesting..."

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 **Please R &R! Thank you! Let me know what you think of it so far. **


	9. Chapter 9

**Sorry it took longer this time. I really like this chapter, I feel it's the best yet. I am also practicing my writing every day on a sight called 750 words . com. It has helped me a lot I think. Anyways, onto the chapter and away from my endless babble.**

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Edward followed Roy obediently, looking wide eyed at the massive windows that over looked the city. He shifted his golden gaze ahead, where people swarmed past them in the hallways with stacks of papers in their hands, all in a hurry to get to where they were going.

Roy all but ignored the endless rush of people and walked briskly in a straight line. Ed assumed that they were going to meet his team in some inner room, hidden from most eyes.

Ed looked ahead of Roy, trying to catch a glimpse of where they were going. Roy glanced back at him and gave a sly smile. "What, are you getting nervous?" He asked they rounded a corner.

Ed shook his head. He wasn't nervous as much as he was just unsure what to expect. He'd never really met anyone that was a part of the military other than Riza and Roy. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to act a certain way or just be himself.

"We're almost there. Just through here." Roy informed him as they approached a big oak door. He paused and looked back at Ed with a reassuring smile. "Ready?"

Ed gave a curt nod, bracing himself for whatever secrets the door held behind its giant stature.

Roy pushed the door open and stepped in. What greeted them both surprised and shocked Ed. There in the middle of the room, were two men having an arm wrestling competition.

"What's going on here?" Roy spoke loudly, halting all excitement in the room. All eyes went to Roy and the room fell into a hushed silence.

"Well?" Roy said with crossed arms. He raised a brow, waiting for some brave heart to speak up.

A blond man with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth dropped the hand he was battling with and gave a squeamish smile. "Well Boss, Me and Breda kinda thought we'd figure out who was the strongest." He briefly explained.

"Uh huh. And who said you could just stop working and have an arm wrestling competition?" Roy narrowed his onyx eyes at the blond man.

The blond mans steely eyes fell onto Ed who was standing slightly behind Roy, wondering if he should make his presents known or just be quiet.

"Hey Boss, who's that?" The man lazily pointed to Ed.

All eyes went to the small boy who shifted uncomfortably under their gaze.

"This is Edward. He's staying with me until the murder investigations are solved. I figured I'd bring him to work and introduce him to all of you." Roy turned to Ed. "Edward, this fool here is Havoc." He gustured to the blond man with the cigarette hanging from his mouth. Havoc smiled warmly and waved.

"And over here is Breda." He pointed to the man Havoc was arm wrestling with. Breda saluted quickly.

"That's Falman." Roy pointed to a man sitting at a desk. Falman gave a curt nod before going back to shifting through papers. "He actually does his job." He gave a pointed look at Breda and Havoc.

"That's Fuery, he's pretty outgoing but don't let that fool you. He's hard working and loyal." Roy continued.

"And of course you know Riza. She's out right now, clearly, otherwise Havoc and Breda would have a bullet for their foolishness." He finished.

"Hi everyone." Ed gave a small smile and a wave. He wasn't sure exactly what they were expecting him to do as they all stared.

Havoc walked up to him and looked down at him. "Kinda short, aren't you?" He teased with a bright grin as he towered above Ed.

Ed felt the blood rushing to his face as he balled his fists. He could feel his automail clicking beneath his white gloves. "I am not short!" He hissed with heated golden eyes.

"Woah woah, I didn't mean to hit a nerve." Havoc chuckled while jokingly holding his hands up in surrender.

"Whatever." Ed huffed and folded his arms, looking away in embarrassment when the rest of the team giggled at their exchange.

Havoc sniffed the air. "Ah man, what's that smell?" He asked loudly, waving the air in front of him. "Is that you?" He asked Ed.

Ed didn't know what to say. It wasn't like he'd bathed any too recently and he'd been out in the streets for a long time. He didn't know the last time he smelled somewhat good.

"Don't you let the kid use your shower, Boss?" Havoc exclaimed, looking at Roy. "What kind of a man takes a kid in only to not let him use anything in the house?" He asked incredulously.

"He had the option. I never noticed the smell." Roy said before walking closer to Ed and sniffing. "Yeah, I think you need a shower and a clean change of clothes." He turned to Havoc. "Do you have any spare clothes for him?"

Havoc thought for a moment then nodded. "Yeah I have some old clothes I keep around in case I need them." He grinned, "You know me, always messing up my clean clothes."

"Alright good," Roy looked to Ed, "You can use the showers here and can borrow Havoc's clothes. Okay?" He said.

Ed shook his head quickly at the thought of someone finding out he had automail. He knew how people always assaulted him with questions.

"Don't worry, no one should be in there right now. You'll be alone." Roy reassured him gently. "Now, go with Havoc and he'll show you where everything is." He said.

Ed reluctantly agreed and followed Havoc out of the office and into the hallway. Their foot steps falling onto the hard floors, sending echoes through the strangely empty halls. "Where are all the people?" Ed asked after a moment.

Havoc glanced back at him. "Probably all back in their offices by now." He said with a smile before they walked through a steel door and into a large bathroom with showers. "My spare clothes are over here." Havoc said as they walked over to the storage compartments and he unlocked one of them, pulling out a set of military clothes. "Here you go." Havoc held out the clothes with a kind smile.

Ed stared at the ugly dark blue pile in Havoc's hand before grudgingly taking it into his own hands. The coarse fabric brushed against Ed's hands as he gripped the clothes tighter, making sure not to drop them onto the floor.

"You can use any of the showers here. I don't think anyone cares." Havoc grinned at the vast empty state of the bathroom. "I'll be back in here pretty soon to get you. Okay?" He asked.

Ed nodded, ready to just get the shower done with so he could go back to the office with Roy.

"Aright, great!" Havoc said before giving a quick wave then he walked out, leaving Ed alone to bathe.

Ed sighed as he walked to the nearest shower and set the clothes down onto a table. He looked into the mirror hanging crookedly above the table. He sighed at what greeted him. "Well Al, I never thought I'd get looking this bad." He sadly chuckled, "You always made sure I kept myself clean."

He dropped his eyes from the mirror and distracted his mind from wandering thoughts as he undid his hair, letting his blond hair drape over his shoulder in a thick veil. He took off his favorite red cloak and gently set it onto the table, noticing all the little rips it contained.

He took his gloves off and glared at the shiny metal that greeted him. It was both his friend and enemy. Cold and unfeeling, it didn't care what was once in its place.

"Damn it! Stop thinking." Ed cursed himself as his thoughts almost went back to the fateful day he lost his arm and leg.

He knelt down and untied his shoes, uncovering his gleaming automail foot. He glared down at it before stripping his shirt off and tossing it onto the table beside him.

He took off all of his clothes and jumped into the shower. He quickly bathed himself then got out, grabbing a towel and dried himself off before stepping into his new clothes. He slipped on the pants and stood in front of the mirror.

All at once, a sound he didn't want to hear echoed into the room.

"Hey Ed. Forgot to give you socks." Havoc's voice flowed into the room as he rounded a corner and saw Ed standing there. His eyes instantly fell onto the glimmering automail and the scars that marred his body.

Havoc's mouth dropped open at the horrific sight before shutting it and hurrying over to Ed. "What the hell happened to you?" He asked, eyeing him over.

Ed looked away, grabbing up his shirt and quickly slipped it on. "Nothing." He muttered. He didn't want to talk about it but he knew that wasn't an option anymore.

"Bullshit. Those scars weren't just nothing." Havoc said rather harshly. He'd never seen such horrible marks on a child. He couldn't imagine the pain the kid went through for that to happen to him.

"I said it was nothing. Let it go." Ed hissed as he laced up his boots and patted his hair dry before throwing the towel onto the table. He grabbed up his dirty clothes and stormed past Havoc. He went out into the hallway, not waiting for the man to catch up.

"Damn it." Havoc mumbled before hurrying after the boy. He shoved through the door and ran down the hallway after him. "Wait Ed, I just want to know who did that to you?" He called after him.

"Just let it go." Ed said as Havoc caught up to him. "I don't want to talk about it." He snarled at him, stomping towards the office.

"You know I have to report this, right?" Havoc said after a moment.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Yeah I know." He let out a held breath. "I just don't want to talk about it, okay?" He looked at Havoc with pleading eyes.

Havoc frowned. "Look, I'm sorry, but I have to report this to the Boss." He said.

Edward felt dread come over him at the thought of Roy questioning him. He'd have to either tell him the truth or make something up. He wasn't sure what to do.

Ed pushed through the office door and quietly walked over to the couch in the room and sat down, staring out the window at a passing bird.

Roy glanced up from his desk at the silent boy before looking at Havoc in question.

Havoc motioned him over. Roy stood and walked over to him. They went out of the office and into the empty hallway.

"What's wrong?" Roy asked after a minute. "Is it the Shadow?" He asked urgently, onyx eyes searching Havoc's steely eyes for answers.

"I need to tell you something, Boss. I don't think you'll like it though." Havoc said after a minute.

"Okay," Roy sighed, "Tell me what you did this time." He said, palming his face.

Havoc shook his head. "It's not about me this time. It's about Edward."

Roy lifted his head and frowned. "Ed? What about him?" He asked.

"He has automail." Havoc said. A serious expression crossed his face, covering his normal carefree nature.

Roy's eyes widened in horror. "How?" He said quickly.

Havoc shook his head and started pacing the halls like a caged tiger. "He wouldn't tell me," He paused in his pacing and met Roy's eyes, "But you should have seen the scars that boy has." He shuddered.

Roy's eyes narrowed. "Well, whoever did it to him will be sorry. They'll understand why I am known as The Flame Alchemist." He clenched his fists, feeling the coarse fabric of his ignition gloves. "They will soon know the searing blaze I will set upon them." He snarled.

"We need to get Ed to tell us who did it to him." Havoc said. "I don't think that will be easy."

"I'll get Ed to talk." Roy said with absolute confidence. "And I'll make the Bastard pay for hurting him."

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 **What'd you think of it? Please leave me a review, if you'd be so kind. Thank you so much for your continued support!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Here's the new chapter! It's starting to get good! Hope you enjoy.**

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Edward watched sullenly as Roy walked into the room. Roy slowly made his way over to Ed and stood in front of him. His face changed from its usual stoic to caring. "Do you mind if I sit next to you?" He asked Ed gently.

Ed eyed him over before nodding. He knew what was to be asked next and he wasn't sure how to respond.

He never expressed much of his past to anyone but Al, and Al wasn't here. Ed looked down at the hard wood floor, counting the cracks and doing anything then to focus on Roy.

Ed felt the couch compress as Roy sat down but he didn't look at him. Ed heard Havoc enter the room and stopped in front of him.

"Should the guys be here for this?" Havoc asked Roy.

"They can leave if they choose or they can stay." Roy said.

Ed could feel all their eyes resting on him, wondering what was going on. He braced himself for the question.

"Edward, Havoc came to me and told me something." Roy said, taking a breath. "He saw you have automail. How'd you get it?" He asked quietly.

Ed sighed. He didn't know how to explain the story to them and not have their sad looks directed at him all day.

"I don't really want to talk about it..." He muttered, picking at the cracks on the leather couch. He heard Roy take a breath and he looked up into the mans face.

Roy's onyx eyes were unusually soft and kind as he gently set his hand on his shoulder and smiled. "Ed, we care about you. Now, I know this might be hard for you but we need to know who did that to you." He said.

Ed nodded and took a deep breath. "My father got himself caught up in a mess of trouble when he borrowed some money from this gang that hung around Resembool." He paused, looking up at Roy and Havoc before continuing.

"He got behind on the payments and one day the gang came looking for him. He found me instead." He stopped, looking at the floor once again.

Roy and Havoc exchanged glances before urging him to continue.

"They grabbed me and demanded I tell them where my Father was. By that time, he'd taken off and left us with his bills. We had no way of paying them. I told them I had no idea where that Bastard went to but they didn't believe me. They kidnapped me and beat me for days, trying to get me to talk. I wouldn't. Then one day they pulled me into their basement and laid me on a metal table, strapping my arms to it. They asked me once more and I told them to screw off. That's when they..." He took a hitched breath.

"That's when they grabbed a rusty saw and took my limbs away from me. They said that they'd be back and that's when they chucked me on my doorstep, leaving me to suffer. That's when my friend, Winry, found me. After that, I got my automail." He finished, meeting their eyes.

Roy sat there with his mouth gaped like a fish out of water. He was silent for a long moment. "So the first story you told me wasn't true? Why did you spin a lie?" He asked.

Ed's eyes widened briefly before he put on a meek smile and looked at his hands. "Being on the streets as long as I was teaches you not to freely hand out trust." He looked up and met Roy's eyes. "I'm sorry I lied to you." He said sincerely.

Roy nodded his head and smiled. He gently rested his hand on Ed's shoulder. "I understand." He said.

It was silent for a minute before Roy spoke. "Is that what happened to your brother? Did the gang kill him?" Roy asked as the thought occurred to him.

Ed's eyes widened and he pulled away from Roy's hand. He clenched his fists and glared at the floor. "I don't want to talk about it." He snarled.

Roy and Havoc exchanged glances.

"I understand. I won't ask anymore today." Roy said, putting on a warm smile to try and calm Ed.

Havoc folded his arms and glared at the floor. "How could anyone do something like that to a young boy?" He hissed.

Roy finally got a hold of himself and he stood. "What was the name of that gang?" He asked, hatred flaring in his eyes.

Ed shook his head, smiling sadly. "They're not around anymore." He said.

Roy looked at him with a frown. "What do you mean? Gangs don't just up and leave. What happened to them?" He asked.

"I don't know. No one really does. All we know is one morning they were found laying dead in their house. Police couldn't figure it out either." Ed shook his head. "Wish they could've rotted in prison instead. Too easy of a death." He snarled.

Roy smiled, "Well at least they'll never bother you ever again. It may have no been the perfect way but they're gone." He reassured him. "Thank you for telling us. It must have been hard for you to remember that." Roy looked at the floor. "The pain you must have went through..." He trailed off.

Havoc stepped up to them with a wide grin. "Maybe he should become part of the team. He's pretty tough, ya know?" He joked.

Roy shook his head. "No children in the Military." He smirked.

Just then, Riza and Mae's burst in through the door.

All heads turned towards them.

"Sir, we've found who The Shadow is."

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 **Told you it's getting good! Hope you enjoyed! If you don't mind leaving me a review, it'd be very kind of you! Thank you for your support!**


	11. Chapter 11

**So sorry about that mix up in chapters! I had thought I'd posted this one before but I was dead wrong. Lol! Well, you guys got a sneak peak into the future! Here's the right order now.**

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"We've found The Shadow!" Hawkeye said, stepping into the room.

All eyes turned to her in a wide surprise. Roy stepped forward. "Explain." He commanded, ready to finally catch the killer.

Ed glanced back and forth at Roy and Hawkeye, waiting for their reply. He kicked at the floor impatiently.

"Sir, we believe it is a man by the name of Jean Kilo. He's a known fugitive and has been seen around Central in the same time period as the murders." She explained.

Mae's stepped forward and handed Roy a paper. He folded his arms and sighed. "That's all the information we have on him." Mae's said.

Roy read it over quickly before looking at Mae's once more. "How'd you figure out it was Jean Kilo?" He asked.

"Well, I tested the blood that was on the sidewalk." Mae's said, glancing at Hawkeye. "If it wasn't for Hawkeye shooting him, I don't think we would have known who it was this quickly." He said, smiling at her proudly.

Havoc frowned. "He has the same name as me..." He muttered softly, staring at the floor with wide eyes.

Mae's rolled his eyes. "Yeah the first name, not the last. Anyways," He turned to Roy, ignoring Havoc, "What's the plan from here?" He asked.

"Well, we need to set up a round the clock watch for this Jean Kilo. He'll show up sooner or later. I want everyone armed. This man is dangerous and knows how to kill." Roy said, looking at everyone.

"Uh, what will you do when you capture him? What's the plan there?" Ed spoke up. "You know, I can help. I know how to fight and I'm pretty good at it too." He said, looking up at Roy.

Roy scowled, looking at Hawkeye. They exchanged glances before Roy focused back to me. "I suppose you could help, but you're not going to be in the heart of the battle." He said, giving in with a sigh.

Ed grinned and fist pumped the air. .

"But to answer your question. Once we capture him, we will judge him for his actions. Once we have done that, he will probably get the death sentence from there." Roy said.

"Now, is there any more questions?" He waited a moment before speaking again. "Okay, then let's find people to be on the watch." He said, looking to Havoc. "Havoc, I want you to watch the Southern part of Central, take someone with you and bring a gun." He said.

"Sir, I'll be on your team." Hawkeye said, looking at Roy.

Roy frowned. "What? Are you worried I won't be able to take care of myself?" He asked.

"Sir, not to be rude or anything, but you're useless in the rain." She said.

Roy slumped down. "Useless?...I'm not useless..." He mumbled blankly.

"Sir, please continue the plan." She said with a glare.

Roy straightened. "Breda, I want you to take Falman with you and go to the Northern part of Central. Take weapons with you and be on high alert." He said.

"The rest of you I want on the Eastern part of Central. Same as before, take weapons. This is starting tonight so gather what you need and get going. Use the Radios in the cars if you see any sign of Jean Kilo." Roy said.

"Sir!" They all said, saluting quickly and hurrying out of the office towards the weapons room.

Hawkeye stepped forward with a grim expression on her face. "Are you ready for this, Sir?" She asked.

Roy nodded, putting his gloves on with a snap. "I've been waiting for this moment for a long time. This man will never know what hit him." He said, heading out the door.

He glanced behind. "Keep with me and don't get separated." He told Ed as he jogged to keep up with the man's long strides.

Roy paused and sighed. "Of course, I'm forgetting something." He turned to Ed. "Have you ever used a gun before?" He asked, pulling out his spare.

He nodded, taking the gun into his hands carefully.

"Now, this is a dangerous weapon, so be careful and only use it if it's life or death. Understood?" He asked, looking the me in the eyes.

He nodded, holstering the gun carefully.

"Okay, let's move." Roy said, heading towards the car in the parking lot. They climbed in and he drove to their waiting place in front of a warehouse. He parked in a secluded spot. "We're here. I suspect this is a place a fugitive would hang out at." Roy said, stepping out of the car.

Hawkeye and I followed. They all went behind some old crates that were pilled up and started their long wait.

"Hope you brought snacks because we could be here a while." Roy smirked, watching as the sun dipped down into it's sleep. "The watch has started."

Hours passed as they sat on the hard concrete, hoping for anything.

Roy held up a hand and listened. "Did you hear that?" He asked quietly, looking to Hawkeye and Ed.

They both nodded and took a fighting stance, ready for anything.

A figure walked out of the shadows and was coming towards them.

Roy looked at Ed and Hawkeye, giving a nod before they hoped out.

"Stop right there. Who are you and what're you doing here?" Roy called out, his fingers poised to snap at a moments notice.

The man stepped closer and came into the thin strip of light that the distant street lights gave off. The man gave Roy a wild look and grinned.

"Who am I? Figured you could guess that by now, Mustang." The man sneered, putting his hand in his pocket.

Roy eyed him. "Are you Jean Kilo?" He questioned.

The man laughed. "Finally! You guessed it! Yes, I'm Jean Kilo, and I'm here to kill you." He said with a murderous glint to his eye.

Roy barely had time to react when the man pulled out a gun and started shooting at them. He dodged to the side and leaped behind the crates, taking cover.

Ed bailed and ran towards a turned over fork lift, taking cover.

Jean laughed, "This is the famous Mustang I've heard so much about? And to think, you're supposed to be the best." He called. "You have a woman and a child with you! How pathetic." He said, disappointed.

Hawkeye fired a few shots off at him before ducking into her cover again.

"Can we talk this over?" Roy called. "Tell me why you're doing this?"

Jean frowned. "I take it you don't remember me then?" He said, pursing his lips. "Shame."

"Remember you? I just met you!" Roy said.

"No, we knew each other. We both liked the same woman. However, you took her from me!" Jean hissed with such hatred it made his skin crawl.

Roy face palmed as he remembered the man. "That was a long time ago and I didn't take her from you! She choose me." He said.

Roy caught Ed's eye from behind his cover. Ed sent a harsh glare at him, trying to tell him to shut up before he made matters worse.

"Doesn't matter anymore, Mustang. You're a dead man, starting with your little friends!" Jean yelled before charging towards Ed hiding place, firing shots along the way.

Roy snapped his fingers and sent a fiery blaze towards him, which Jean dodged.

"Butt out, Mustang!" Jean screamed, shooting at Roy. The bullet missed him by a hair.

Jean kept charging towards Ed.

Ed could hear his thundering foot steps as they hit the concrete.

Ed leaped out of his hiding place and gritted his teeth. He had no choice. He clapped his hands and transmuted his hand into a blade.

Jean grinned wildly at the sight of such a weapon. He shot at him, he jumped with the agility of a cat and the bullet missed.

"Stay still boy!" Jean hollered at him with rage, firing more. He paused to reload.

Ed smiled, seeing his opening. He ran towards the man and jumped at him, bringing the blade down at the man.

Jean saw it coming and blocked it with his gun. The clang of metal struck through the air.

"You're gonna have to do better than that." Jean spat at him. "You're a goner." He said.

Ed's eyes went wide as he slowly looked down at the gun pointed at him. He could feel the cold grasp of the gun as it touched his skin. He didn't have time to react before the gun fired.

He sucked in air as a wave of white hot pain flew over him. All sense of direction was lost as he fell to the ground. he clenched his hand over the wound as blood seeped around it. He gritted his teeth as another waved of pain rolled over him.

Jean beamed down at him as waved his gun around. "One down! Two to go!" He laughed.


	12. Chapter 12

Roy rushed towards Ed, who had hit the ground with a loud hiss.

He heard Jean laughing and it made him grit his teeth. "You Bastard!" He snarled, snapping his fingers, sending a blazing hot fire towards the man.

Jean jumped to the side as the flames whistled by him and crashed into the warehouse wall with a flare. He turned towards Roy with a mad grin. "That all you got?" He asked before aiming the gun squarely at Roy. "I was hoping for more of a battle then this. Shame." He said before pulling the trigger.

Roy closed his eyes tightly as the sound blared through the air but he felt no pain. He peeked open an eye and saw Hawkeye on top of the man, fighting for the gun.

Roy jogged over to her and latched onto Jean's hand, holding him down while Hawkeye grabbed the gun from the crazed man. Roy looked up at Hawkeye who nodded and gestured over to Ed.

Roy nodded and ran over to Ed who was looking bleary up at him. "Edward! Answer me. Are you okay?" He asked urgently, resting a gentle hand on the Boy's neck, checking for a pulse. He breathed a sigh of relief when he felt the thumping of his heart.

Edward stared at him for a moment. "Roy?..." He asked quietly.

Roy nodded with a smile. "Yeah it's me. I'm here for you." He said, carefully scooping his hands under the boy and lifting him up, gaining a hiss from the boy.

"That hurt..." Ed said in a small voice. He clenched onto Roy's coat as he grit his teeth.

Roy frowned at the sleek sheet of sweat that was over his forehead. "Hold on, okay? I'm going to take you to the hospital. You're going to be okay." He said.

Roy looked briefly over at Hawkeye who had Jean in hand cuffs. She helped the man stand and pushed him towards the car. She met Roy's eyes and he knew what she was trying to say.

Roy hurried over to the car and gently rested Ed in the front seat, careful not to jar his injuries.

Hawkeye threw Jean harshly into the back seat and she got in with him, just as Roy started the car and started racing towards the nearest hospital.

Roy looked over at Ed who's head was loping to the side. A blank look rested on the boy's face as he gripped his wound tightly. The wound had mostly stopped bleeding, which was good.

Roy pulled up to the hospital and got Ed out, carrying him into the emergency center where two men set Ed down on a gurney. They wheeled him out of sight and left Roy standing in the waiting room.

Roy sighed and sat down, fiddling with his hands, glancing up at the clock every two minutes.

Finally, after what seemed like eternity, a woman came walking out with a clipboard in her hand. She smiled at Roy and walked up to him.

"Are you the blond boy's father or guardian figure?" She asked with a bright smile.

Roy hesitated slightly before nodding. "I'm his guardian figure. How's he doing?" He asked quickly.

The woman gave him a reassuring smile. "He's doing much better. The wound wasn't serious, more of a graze really. You can see him now if you'd like." She said, looking down at the clip board. "He's in room 112. Down that way, on the right." She pointed.

Roy smiled and gave a wave before hurrying into the Edward's room. Roy smiled when Ed looked up at the sudden intrusion with alarm.

"Don't you knock?" Ed said, folding his arms with fake anger. He bore a smile and seemed happy to see Roy.

Roy walked further into the room and pulled up a chair. "I'm glad to see you're awake. I really didn't want to have to carry you again. You're much heavier than expected, you know." He smiled.

"Well, when you have metal for an arm and a leg, you're going to be heavy." Ed teased before he stared at his white bed sheets.

"Did you get that man?" He asked after a moment, looking up at Roy with a serious expression.

Roy smiled and nodded. "He's in hand cuffs in the car with Hawkeye. Seems like the terror of The Shadow is at an end. I couldn't be more happy." He said, standing up.

"How long do I have to stay here?" Ed asked with a scowl. "I hate hospitals."

Roy shook his head with a smirk. "Not too long, since it was only a graze. I have to go and get that bag of scum into prison, but I'll be back for you." Roy said, ruffling Ed's hair playfully. "See you later, Catboy."

Ed slapped away his hand and gave him a glare, trying to flatten his hair once more.

"Don't call me that, Pyro!" Ed said, crossing his arms. "You don't have to come back, you know. I wouldn't be sad if you didn't." Ed stuck his nose in the air but glanced back after a moment of Roy not saying anything.

"Yeah, I could stay away. But I would miss you." Roy said. "I need to go now but I'll be back soon. You just rest." He said then he smiled. "See you later, Alligator. " He said in a teasing tone as he headed for the door.

Edward's eyes widened. "Don't say that, It's so lame!" He said before looking around the room to make sure no one was listening in.

Edward looked back at Roy with a wide playful grin. "After while, Crocodile." He said.

Roy smirked at him and gave a wave before closing the door and making his way to the car.

He hoped in and started driving.

"How's Edward?" Hawkeye asked, keeping a gun to Jean's head.

Jean grinned wildly. "Yes, how's Edward? Still breathing, I presume? Well, I'll have to remedy that." He said with a snicker.

Roy ignored the crazed man. "Yeah, the doctor said Ed will be fine." He told Hawkeye who smiled.

"That's wonderful." She said.

Jean rolled his eyes. "Oh yes, just great."


	13. Chapter 13

**Here's the next chapter that you all have been waiting for! The heat is on!**

 **Sorry I haven't updated in a while, life's been busy. I finally found a new barn to board my horse and I am getting Coturnix Quail to hatch out! So exciting!**

 **Do any of you guys own horses in Oregon?**

 **Thanks for reading!**

* * *

Roy walked into the room where Jean was being held and stood in front of him.

"Are you ready to admit to the murders yet?" Roy asked Jean with seething eyes. "Allow me bring some comfort to the poor families." He said.

Jean folded his hands on the table and looked up at Roy with a smile. "I would admit to them," He said, "If it was me who did them." He said.

Roy glared down at Jean and folded his arms. "Right, right." He breathed out. "So you're saying we got the wrong man and all that, huh?" He asked, rolling his eyes.

Jean nodded and leaned back in his chair. "Yep. It's obvious it wasn't me. " He said, flicking absentmindedly at his shirt sleeve.

Roy frowned at him. "Oh, and why's that?" He asked with mock amusement.

Jean scoffed. "You don't even notice when you're in the same room with the murderer." He said, looking towards the door with a bored expression.

Jean looked back at Roy. "You don't notice, do you?" He asked with raised brows.

Roy smirked. "Yeah I know who the murder is. He's right in front of me." He said, walking closer to Jean and pulling out a chair. He sat down and rested his hands on the table.

"Now you can either make this easy on yourself or hard, it's your choice." Roy said calmly.

Jean chuckled. "Do you even see through the lies? I bet you're smitten with his bright smile, aren't you? That's how he always gets his next victim." He said, shaking his head with a carefree smile.

Roy leaned forward. "I have no idea what you're even babbling on about." He hissed. "Why not just admit to the murders so I can go home." He snarled.

"Because I didn't do them, that's why. I do, however, know who killed those people." Jean said. "Let me help you. Maybe we can work something out." Jean said with Cheshire smile.

Roy rolled his eyes. "Right, and it'll all just be flowers and rainbows, huh?" He said. "You do notice people have died." He spat.

Jean shook his head. "I only killed that man outside of your house and that was because he owed me money. The others aren't my doings." He explained.

Roy clenched his fists and slammed them down on the table, making Jean flinch. "Damn it! Just tell me you murdered them!" He yelled.

Jean shook his head. "It's a boy who did it. I know him and have for quite some time now. I mean, I don't like him by any means, but I know him." He rambled on.

Roy gritted his teeth and leaned into Jean's light blue eyes. "Just tell me who killed those people." He breathed heatedly.

"A boy with blond hair." Jean said quickly.

Roy's eyes widened slightly and he pulled away from Jean. "Impossible. We have your DNA at the scene." He said.

Jean nodded. "Doesn't surprise me. That kid is good at planting evidence." He mused.

Roy started pacing the room like a caged tiger. "So what you're telling me is that a young boy has killed women? Why would a child do that?" He asked with annoyance.

"How should I know? Why don't you go ask him." Jean said.

Roy stopped pacing and he looked to Jean with confusion. "What are you talking about?" He asked.

Jean grinned. "You still haven't connected the pieces yet, even after all I've told you? Wow. Remind me to never play a puzzle game with you." He chuckled.

Roy tore a chair from the table and threw it across the room, making it bang loudly into the wall. "Damn it! Tell me what you're talking about!" He demanded.

Jean sighed. "Well you're no fun. Fine. Ask the demon child that shares a house with you why he kills people in the night. But be warned, he might attack you. I got attacked by him once, left me many scars..." He shivered.

"You're lying!" Roy roared, glaring at him with seething eyes.

Jean shrugged. "Why would I?" He asked.

"To just play with me! That's how you get your rocks off!" Roy hissed, throwing up his arms and pacing once more.

"To solve all of this wondering, just go and talk to him. But you might want to close off all exits first because he will run." Jean said. "Anyways, I'm done talking until we can work out a deal." He said. He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms.

Roy shook his head. "I've heard enough out of you." He said. He turned and walked out the door, leaving Jean alone.

Roy felt mixed up. Edward wouldn't have lied to him, couldn't have.

Roy eyed Jean through the two-way mirror and considered everything he had heard.

What if it was true?

Roy shook away that thought and focused on what mattered now. He had to find Mae's and find out the truth, once and for all.

Roy walked down the hall and spotted Hawkeye. He jogged up to her and looked into her face.

Hawkeye looked at the floor briefly then met Roy's eyes. "There's been new evidence brought in by Mae's." She said before Roy had a chance to ask anything.

Roy stared with his mouth gaped like a fish out of water. "What new evidence?" He asked.

Hawkeye frowned at him and sighed. "You'll have to talk to Mae's if you want to know more." She said and turned to walk away.

Hawkeye paused in mid stride and looked back at Roy with a deep scowl. "You're not going to like what you hear." She warned then walked away.

Roy frowned at that and went in search of Mae's. All the while, his heart clenched at what he might hear.

He didn't want any of this to be true. It couldn't be, he told himself. He forced all of those thoughts down when he saw Mae's pacing in the hall outside of his office.

Mae's saw Roy and paused in his pacing as he walked up to Roy. "Hey Buddy." He said in a small voice.

"Hawkeye said you have new information to give me? What is it?" Roy asked frantically.

Maes held up a file and the piece of black fabric they had found at the scene of the murder. "I'll warn you, you're not gonna like what I'm about to tell you." Maes said as he handed the file to Roy.

Roy took it and thumbed through it. He slowly looked up at Maes with wide eyes. "This can't be right?" He said quietly.

Mae's nodded grimly. "I'm afraid it is. All evidence points to him. I'm sorry Roy." Mae's said, patting Roy on the shoulder.

Roy hardly felt the pat as his shocked mind tried to comb over what he had seen. It couldn't be true, no way.

Roy shook his head and shoved the file back into Mae's hand. "This isn't the truth, and I'll prove it." He said, meeting Mae's eyes with fierce determination.

Mae's eyes widened and he held up a hand. "You can't go there! He's dangerous, he's killed people!" He said.

Roy pushed past him and kept walking, ignoring all of Mae's shouts. He was going to find out the truth, even if it killed him.

He stormed to his car and drove home. He fumbled for the keys and burst in to his dark house.

"Edward, where are you?" Roy called through the silence.

Edward walked in from the kitchen and stood in front of Roy with a confused looked on his face. "What are you doing home early?" He asked, stepping closer to Roy.

Roy held up a hand. "Stay where you are." He said as he tossed the black fabric into Edward's hand.

Edward cocked his head and frowned down at it. "What's this supposed to be?" He asked after a moment.

Roy narrowed his eyes and folded his arms. "Why don't you tell me?" He insisted.

Edward met Roy's eyes and gave a small shrug. "What's this about?" He asked after a moment, throwing the fabric back at Roy.

"We've found evidence that you were at the murder scenes. The department thinks you're The Shadow." Roy said.

Edward's eyes widened and he took a step backwards. "Wh-Wha-What? W-w-why would you think that?" He stuttered, his eyes flicked to the door as Police sirens wailed from outside.

Roy looked at the flashing lights and cursed. He held up a hand and took a step forward. "I don't believe that you are but we need to prove it for sure. You need to come down to the station so we can figure this all out." He said. "Please Edward, just come with me." He begged.

Edward shook his head and bumped into the window. He looked wildly around as Police started pounding on the door. He grabbed the window and jerked it open then jumped out and started running.

"Damn it! Edward wait!" Roy called, racing through the door and past the Police.

He chased after Edward until he lost him down an alley. He cursed and stopped, just as Mae's came running up to him.

Roy turned angrily towards Mae's. "You should have given me time to talk to him! He's not a murderer!" He snarled.

Mae's shook his head. "Couldn't take that risk. That boy could very well be The Shadow and he could've killed you." He said then sighed.

Mae's rested a hand on Roy's shoulder. "You are my best friend and I couldn't take that risk. But we will find out if Ed really is The Shadow, I promise you." He said.


	14. Chapter 14

**Sorry it took me so long to update! I've been busy with my Horse, Boz. We've moved to a new stable today, it's called SunFlower Stables. I love it so far!**

 **And as for my Coturnix Quail, I hatched out 18 of them and they are a month old now! Wow!**

 **Anyhow, I enjoyed writing this chapter! It's starting to get good! *Evil Laugh***

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Maes rested a hand on Roy's shoulder. "You are my best friend and I couldn't take that risk. But we will find out if Ed really is The Shadow, I promise you." He said.

Roy nodded, letting his anger fade out with each breath. He refused to believe that Edward was The Shadow. It was someone else and he would prove it.

Roy felt someone tapping him on the shoulder and he turned around to a cop.

"Sir. I just got a call that The Shadow has been sighted! Down on 53rd street. The woman who reported it claims that The Shadow pushed into her, knocking her to the ground while he ran by." The cop reported quickly.

Maes stepped forward. "And how do they know it was The Shadow?" He asked.

"Sorry Sir. They said he was wearing the red cloak." The cop said before saluting and jogging off.

Roy knew this was his chance to prove once and for all that Ed was not The Shadow. He walked over to the waiting cops.

"Listen up!" Roy called, gaining the attention of everyone around him.

"The Shadow has been spotted on 53rd street. He is wearing a red cloak and is in a hurry. He might be on his way to kill another person. It is urgent that we catch this man! I want everyone to be on top alert and checking every side street that's near 53rd. Go, now!" Roy shouted.

Everyone saluted and went jogging off towards 53rd. Roy followed close behind, keeping an eye on the gathering crowds. He could feel his eagerness to catch The Shadow as his heart rate built up.

His eyes scanned over the crowd. He felt nervousness spiking through him. He could feel The Shadow's eyes on him and it made his skin crawl.

"There!" Maes yelled, pointing to a red streak running down a side alley.

"I'll get him! Maes, you circle around and meet me on the other side of this alley!" He demanded before running down the alley after The Shadow.

Roy raced down the alley after the red clad figure, his fingers posed to snap. His heart was racing at the thought of finally catching The Shadow.

The Shadow clapped his hands and quickly pressed them onto a wall as he ran, making large boulders jerk out of the ground and narrowly miss Roy.

Roy aimed and snapped his fingers, sending a roaring fire ball towards The Shadow. The red figure dodged the fiery blast, burning the edges of his red cloak.

Roy could hear the heaving breaths of the man as he started running again.

The Shadow spared a glanced back at Roy as his hood flew off his head and laid against his back.

Roy could see the man had blond hair as it flew out behind him like a flapping bird before the man snapped his head forward again and ran.

The Shadow once again clapped and pressed his hands against the wall as another tall boulder jutted from the ground under The Shadows feet, hoisting him into the air.

Roy snapped his fingers and sent a hissing fire ball into the large rock, melting it and bring the man back to earth.

They had reached the end of the alley with no where else to go. The Shadow frantically looked around at the high walls around him, looking for an escape.

Roy slid to a stop and aimed his fingers up at The Shadow. "You might as well give up. There's no where to run." Roy called.

His voice echoed around them through the clearness of the night. The Shadow sighed as he slowly turned his head towards Roy.

The moonlight shun onto the face of the mysterious Shadow and Roy's mouth hung open like a fish out of water.

Roy lowered his hand and he felt his heart shatter.

"Ed?...You really are The Shadow..." He mumbled with wide Onyx eyes.

The boy he had come to care for and love like a son was the murderer he'd been chasing for so long.

Roy looked at the ground. "Why?" He asked softly before looking up with furious black eyes. "Why would you kill all those people!" Roy snarled at Ed.

Ed met his eyes with steely golden orbs. "Why? Are you seriously asking me why?" Ed rolled his eyes and laughed. "If you had given one shit about my past you'd know the answer to that."

Roy narrowed his onyx eyes, "I left your past alone because I could tell it bothered you." He said.

Ed blinked and looked towards the ground. "You did?" He asked softly before meeting Roy's hard gaze.

Roy stared at him. "How?" He asked point blank.

"What do you mean how?" Ed asked flatly as he watched Roy's expression change from shocked to anger.

"I mean how did you kill those people when you were still in my house!" He yelled.

Ed smiled sadly and shook his head, "Easy, I snuck out while you were sleeping. I made sure to cover my tracks."

"Yeah well, you didn't cover them very well. How do you think I found you, you little bastard." Roy hissed at Ed with narrowed eyes. "I took you in and treated you like a son and this is how you repay me?" He clenched his hands, "You've betrayed everyone!"

Ed looked down at the ground and sighed. "I wanted to tell you but I knew you'd act like this..." Ed muttered.

"How else am I supposed to act when I find out the person I've been living with is a murderer?" Roy yelled as he started pacing the alley.

Ed watched him walk back and forth like a caged tiger. "I never wanted to be a murderer, you know." Ed said.

Roy stopped pacing and looked at Ed incredulously. "Oh yeah? I never planned on being part of the Military but hey, at least I didn't grow up killing people for fun." He snapped.

"That's not what I meant!" Ed hissed and threw his fists down against his sides.

"Oh? Then what did you mean?" Roy glared at him, heaving breaths as his heart rate picked up.

"I'm forced to kill people! I don't want to but I have to!" Ed shouted desperately as he looked Roy in the eyes and took a step towards him.

Roy held up his finger and posed it to snap. "Don't take another step." He spat, glazing with seething eyes at the boy he came to love like a son.

"Roy please, I never wanted this..." Ed felt a wetness leaking down his cheek. "Just listen to me!" Ed begged pitifully.

Roy could feel his heart tearing in two as he watched the tears pour from Ed's wide golden eyes. Roy shook away the feeling and steeled himself.

"I guess you must be made of something different than me," Roy closed his eyes and took a breath, "You have a heart full of cold metal." He opened cold onyx eyes and rested them on the boy. He was ready to snap his fingers and end it all.

"They're holding my little brother hostage!" Ed yelled desperately. "They're forcing me to kill in order to keep him alive..." Ed's shoulders slumped.

Roy almost lowered his fingers.

He wanted, with all of his might, to believe him.

"Why should I listen you?" Roy asked with a fixed glare as he watched Ed look up at him with wide eyes.

"Because it's the truth!" Ed said as he took another step closer. "Please..."

Roy watched with aimed fingers as Ed slowly inched closer to him until he was face to face with the boy.

"Please, Roy. Listen to me." Ed begged softly as he met Roy's hardened eyes with his watery golden gaze.

Roy sighed and dropped his hand to his side. "Why would they take your brother?" He finally asked after a moment.

Ed's eyes shun with hope, "You're gonna listen to me?" He asked.

Roy nodded, "I don't forgive what you've done but I am willing to listen."

Ed ran into Roy's chest and gripped him in a tight hug. He wept loudly into Roy's dark blue coat as Roy wrapped his arms around the boy, pulling him closer.

He didn't care what Ed had done. He couldn't bring himself to kill him. He knew deep in his heart that he was loving someone who was on death row but he couldn't block his feelings for the boy.

Ed pulled himself away from Roy and looked into his eyes. "Thank you, Roy." He sniffed as another tear fell down his cheek.

Roy knelt down and wiped the tear from Ed's cheek. "Now tell me, why are these people holding you brother hostage?"

Ed wiped his nose with the back of his hand and took a deep breath, readying himself. "My father was once part of a gang." He began.

"He had borrowed money from them," Ed looked up at Roy, "And I mean lots of money."

"What for?" Roy asked with a frown before Ed could say more.

"I don't know, I guess to buy our family home." Ed said with a sigh, "It wasn't worth the price though."

Ed stared at the ground, "It wasn't the Military that killed my parents. It was the gang." Ed looked up into Roy's face again.

"They killed my mother first, which sent my father into drugs and alcohol. After becoming addicted to those, he needed even more money."

Roy nodded, he could remember some of his friends getting hooked on that crap and how they all turned up dead.

"My father couldn't pay that back either so they killed him. They left us alone to die." Ed took a deep breath and gave a sad smile.

"They didn't realize my brother and I weren't just some stupid kids. We knew how to survive, I mean it was hard of course, but we did it."

Ed scowled, "That only angered the gang once they saw we weren't dead and they came back."

"They grabbed Alphonse, my little brother, and held a gun to his head and told me to listen to them." Ed shuddered with the memory.

"Of course I listened to their every detail. They told me that they would keep my brother alive as long as I did exactly what I was told." Ed took a breath.

"And so, The Reaper, was born." Ed thought for a moment. "Where did you guys come up with The Shadow anyways?" Ed asked.

Roy shook his head with a small smile. "Not my doings. I guess because you were always hidden in the shadows and never left much of a trace, at least not for the untrained eye."

Roy's face became serious again and he looked down into Ed's face. "You know they're still going to hunt you."

Ed's nodded, "I know, but not if you help me." He locked eyes with Roy, "Will you help me get my little brother back?"

Roy clenched his teeth. His entire career he followed the law and did his best to bring the law breakers to justice. He was risking not just his job by helping Ed, but his life too.

Roy took a deep breath and met Ed's golden eyes with determination. "I will help you." He promised.

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 **Leave a review and let me know what you thought of it! Thanks for reading and I'll see you next time!  
**


	15. Chapter 15

**Sorry it's taken so long to update! I've been working odd hours lately and haven't had time to write. But enough of that, here's the next chapter!**

 **Merry early Christmas!**

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Roy looked at Ed with soft eyes. "I will help you but only if you promise not to kill anymore people." He said, resting a gentle hand on Ed's shoulder.

Ed peered up at him with watery eyes and nodded with a sniff. "I'll try but what do I do about the Police? They'll find me." He cast a worried gaze up at Roy.

Roy frowned. "Let me worry about that. For now I need to get you someplace safe. This place is swarming with Police." He said.

A loud siren sounded off in the distance, causing Ed to stiffen up. He turned towards Roy. "They're coming!" He said with panic laced in his voice.

Roy glanced at the way they'd come. "You just had to pick a dead end alley..." He grumbled.

"Like I meant to!" Ed snapped at him, "What do I do? There's no place to hide!" He said.

Roy glanced at him briefly. "I'll go and tell them you got past me. Meet me at my house later tonight but make sure there's no one there before coming in. I'll be waiting." Roy said with a kind smile before turning and jogging back the way they'd came.

Roy ran out into the street when Police cars pulled up and Maes came running out.

"Did you get him?!" Maes asked hurriedly, looking behind Roy hopefully.

Roy shook his head. "He got past me. We'll have to send more search party's out to look but I assume he's long gone from here." He said.

Maes gave him a reassuring pat on the back. "We'll get 'em, don't you worry. It was probably a good thing you didn't run into him, after all, he is a murderer." He said.

Roy gave a nervous chuckle. "Yeah, good thing." He said.

Maes turned towards the guys around him. "Alright everyone, The Shadow got past Roy here so I need everyone to keep a close eye out. He could be hiding anywhere. Be on high alert. He was almost captured tonight." He said, before shooing them away.

"I think I'm gonna head home. The Shadow is long gone from here and I almost had the son of a bitch too..." Roy mumbled as he kicked the ground in faked frustration.

"Don't worry Buddy, we'll get 'em. And when we do, we'll put the Death Sentence on 'em!" Maes said with a bright grin.

Roy snapped his head up with widened eyes but quickly got his composure back and nodded his agreement. "Well, see you tomorrow then." He said with a small wave.

"Yeah, see ya Buddy!" Maes called out to him, "Try to get some sleep for once!" He yelled.

Roy waved off that last statement and let out a big breath of air once he was out of sight. He thought about what Maes had said.

He shuddered at the thought of Ed getting the death sentence. He couldn't let it happen.

He walked home through the dark, no longer scared of seeing the Famous Shadow roaming about. He walked up to his door, relieved to see there was no Police there anymore.

The house was dark and silent, almost eerie after what had transpired over the night. He flipped on the lights and glanced around.

"Edward, are you here?" He called.

He turned around quickly when he heard the floor creak under someones weight. He fixed his fingers in a snapping pose until he saw Ed standing there with an almost innocent look on his face.

Roy lowered his hand. "You startled me." He said, letting out a held breath. "You could've said hello or something you know." He glared at Ed.

Ed flashed a bright smile. "Why? So I'd miss out on your scared face? Nah." He said with an amused look.

Roy rolled his eyes playfully and plopped down on the couch. "So, did you have any problems getting here?" He asked.

Ed's smile dropped and he breathed in. "Cops caught sight of me at one point, it took a lot of running and climbing to escape from them. Persistent little things, aren't they?"

"Well, I did hire them just for that reason you know." Roy smirked at Ed's irritated look. "So, got any plans to free your brother?" He asked.

Ed shook his head and leaned back on the couch. "Gotta get myself outta harms way first." He raised his head off the couch and smiled at Roy. "Guess it's a good thing I met you, huh?" He said.

"You know, speaking of that. How exactly did you meet me? Why did you knock on my door, of all things?" Roy asked after a moment.

"Quite honestly, it was just bad luck I picked the one house in the whole neighborhood who was with the Police. When you said who you were I had to come up with a story to cover my ass, it wasn't easy you know." Ed said, sticking his nose in the air. "I think you should say sorry for making me do that." He said.

Roy raised his brows. "Say sorry for you having to lie to me? Are you crazy?" He asked. "Well, I mean, crazier than you are."

Ed shrugged. "Guess so."

"You can stay here for a little bit but I suspect Maes will be stopping in sooner or later. If he was to find out that I have been harboring you here, he'd kill me." Roy said. "I don't even want to think what Hawkeye would do to me..." He shook his head.

"Well then we need a plan. I say we just go in guns blazing to the gang and take them all out!" Ed said, grinning at the thought of killing the gang.

Roy shook his head. "You might just put your brother in more danger. No, we need a more thought out plan then that." He said. "Do you know where they're holding your brother at?" He asked.

Ed shook his head. "If I knew, do you really think I would be killing people for them? Hell no, I'd have rescued my brother long ago. If those Bastards have hurt him in anyway, I'll do much worse then just killing them. I'll have them skinned alive." He growled.

Roy flinched at Ed's cold eyes and remembered what the boy was capable of.

"Right, well. Do you know where some of the gang are held up at? We can devise a plan to capture one of them and force him to tell us where they're keeping him." Roy said.

Ed nodded excitedly. "They'll wish they never messed with us." He said. "I know that a few of the gang is set up on the south end, just outside of town. They're in what I think is an old dairy barn. The thing is huge though, which is why I've never tried to go in it myself. I'm sure they'll be packing guns." Ed said.

Roy nodded. "We'll have to come up with a way to make it so they can't see to use those guns." He said.

Ed grinned. "I think I have a way." He reached into his pocket and pulled out smoke grenades. "These should do. I would've used them when you trapped me in the alley but you didn't give me enough time." He explained.

"Those will do nicely. Now, do you have the schematics for that building?" Roy asked, blowing over Ed's statement.

Ed nodded. "They're at the library, back in the old files they keep." Ed said.

"How good are you at hand to hand combat?" Roy asked.

Ed's golden eyes lit up with excitement. "I am pro! Al and I used to battle it out as practice all the time. I'm one of the best around!" He bragged.

"Good. Tomorrow we strike." Roy said.

Ed flashed a smile. "They'll never know what hit them!" He said.

Just then, a loud knock rang out among them.

Ed's eyes widened. "I thought you said no one would find us here?!" He hissed with panic laced in his voice.

Roy glanced at him. "No, I told you Maes might stop in at some point!" He whispered. "Now shut up and let me think!" He demanded.

"Don't you dare open that door!" Ed growled, warning him with narrowed eyes.

"I have to open the door! Maes will know somethings wrong if I don't." He said quietly. He got up from the couch.

"Just a minute!" Roy called to the door. He started walking towards it only to fall to the floor by Ed's weight.

Ed flipped Roy over onto his back and held a knife to his throat. "Don't you dare tell him that I am here!" He hissed through clinched teeth. He pressed the knife harder on Roy's skin, making him flinch.

Roy started up into the murderous golden eyes and felt true fear. "I won't tell him you're here, now get off of me." He said carefully.

Ed glared down at him before yanking the knife away and rolling off of Roy's stomach. "You better not be lying to me..." Ed snarled as he fled into the kitchen and hid in a large cupboard.

Roy blinked as he pushed himself up off the floor and walked to the door. He breathed out a deep breath and opened it.

Maes grinned at him. "Hey buddy! Took you awhile to answer, everything all right?" He asked, looking past Roy into the house.

Roy smiled. "Yeah, everything's fine. I just tripped over that damn door mat you put down last week. I think I have bruises."

Maes pushed past him into the house, eyeing the things inside.

Roy sighed and closed the door. "I'm fine, by the way!" He said.

"What do you want, Maes?" He asked point blank, trying to keep his eyes from wandering to Ed's hiding spot.

"Just stopped in to make sure everything's good. Wouldn't want that murderer to come back, now would we?" He asked with a smile.

Roy narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms. "Are you implying that Ed is the murderer? Because there's no proof of that yet." He tried to sound convincing.

Maes smiled lightly. "Actually, there is. There's a lot of evidence and then there's also the fact he ran. He did run, didn't he?" He asked.

Roy felt anger swell at that comment. "You know damn well that he ran! He ran when you guys came with sirens wailing and lights flashing. You probably scared him!" He growled.

Maes frowned. "Why would he have any reason to be afraid of the Police?" He asked.

Roy stared at him. "Because the Military killed his family!" He yelled out a lie, feeling his heart sink at lying to his best friend.

Maes scowled. "Are you certain that's even true? He's done nothing but lie since he came here." He said then sighed. "I just don't want you to get hurt." He admitted.

Just then, a loud bang sounded from the kitchen. Sending icy fear down Roy's back, making him shiver.

Maes looked towards the kitchen. "What was that?" He asked, listening.

Roy swallowed. "Probably nothing." He said unconvincingly.

Maes glanced back at Roy. "That didn't sound like nothing to me. Come on, lets go and check it out." He said, lowering his voice as he waked into the kitchen.

"I don't hear anything now." Roy commented, feeling his heart racing at the thought of Ed being discovered. He tried to keep his eyes from flashing towards the cupboard but failed.

Maes followed Roy's eyes to the large cupboard. He nodded his head towards it, letting Roy know that he found where the noise came from.

"I think it was probably just rats." Roy blurted out, trying desperately to keep Maes from opening it.

Maes frowned at that suggestion. "You've never had rats, you're a clean freak." He said, turning his attention back to the cupboard. He reached for it.

Roy felt his heart stop as Maes grabbed the door to the cupboard and open it. Roy blinked at the nothingness of the cupboard and he let out a held breath. "Guess it was the rats." He said.

Maes frowned. "Right..." He closed the cupboard again. "Well, if you ever need me, just call. You know I'll always be here if you need me." He said, resting a hand on Roy's shoulder and looking him in the eye.

"Please don't put yourself in danger for no reason. Don't do that to me. You're my best friend and I don't want anything to happen to you." Maes said.

Roy nodded. "I won't." He said.

Maes patted him on the back and started walking towards the door. "Alright, I'll see you tomorrow then. Goodnight, Buddy. Get your rest, I know you need it." He said with a smile and then left.

Roy let out a deep breath and turned just as Ed came stalking out of the other room.

Ed looked at Roy with a sly smile. "Did you really think I was that dumb?" He grinned at the dumbfounded look on Roy's face.

"But I saw you go in there! How'd you get past us?" Roy asked.

Ed shrugged. "Skills. How do you think I've made it on the streets as long as I have?" He asked. "Anyways, back to business. Tomorrow we go through with our plan and find my brother." He said.

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 **Let me know what you think of it! Leave a review if you'd be so kind!**


	16. Chapter 16

Edward set his determined eyes on the large building in front of him. He took a breath in and let it out, knowing that it would not be easy to steal the schematics of the warehouse from the guarded documents in the library.

He balled his fists and started walking towards the entrance. He passed through the door and stopped dead in his tracks when a loud alarm sounded and he watched in stunned silence as two armed guards jogged over to him.

They eyed him, looking at his torn clothes and dirty hair with disgust.

"What are you doing here, kid?" The big guy holding a pistol asked. "And why did you sound the alarm? What metal do you have on you?" He demanded.

Ed clenched his teeth and sent a silent thanks to Roy for lending him a fake I.D.

He flashed a bright and charming smile and pulled out the I.D. "I've been sent by Roy Mustang to recive documents on an abandoned warehouse." He reported in a smooth tone, trying to convince his heart to calm down.

The guard tsked and snatched the I.D from Ed's outstretched hand and gave it a hard look before jerking it back at him.

"Fine. But what are you carrying to trigger the alarm?" He asked once more, gripping the pistol a little more securely.

Ed swallowed and quickly thought up a lie. "Oh that." He chuckled. "It's only my Automail arm. I lost it in a bomb set by the rebellion. It's one of the reasons I joined the Military." He proudly pulled up his sleeve, showing off the gleaming Automail.

The guard stared at it then gave Ed a curt nod and holstered his pistol. "You may enter, Mr. DragonBorn." He said, stepping aside for Ed to pass.

Ed blinked as he walked past the guard and frowned at the fake I.d. He read it and rolled his eyes. Could Roy be any more of a nerd?

He pocked the I.d and looked around the large building, looking for where they kept schematics.

He sighed in irritation when people swarmed past him in a busy manner, blocking his field of vision. He, once more, regretted being so short.

He shoved his way past people, receiving many dirty and hateful looks from people before he finally broke through the thick crowd and saw the room he was looking for.

He briskly walked over the door and looked around before ducking in. The room wasn't real big but it was stacked full of filing cabinets. It was all neat and labeled, thankfully.

He yanked open a drawer and thumbed through paper after paper. He felt his heart rate quicken the longer he was there, knowing his I.d could only get him through so much.

He knew if he was caught in here they'd run his I.d and check it. He felt cold shivers run down his back at the thought and hurried his hands along.

He felt the paper under his hand and pulled it out. A big smile crept over his face as he found the paper he needed. He pushed the drawer closed and stood up, only to freeze as he heard voices nearing the room.

His eyes widened and darted around, looking for a hiding spot. He saw a small space between two shelves and he dove into it just as the door opened.

Two guys walked in, talking and laughing. They had guns holstered at their sides and were clearly with the Military.

Ed's heart thumped against his chest like a trapped bird. He held his hand over his mouth to quiet his breathing as the men came closer to his hiding spot.

He knew if they spotted him there'd be no escape. He was cornered. He quietly watched as the men pulled open the door, just as they were about to leave, Ed bumped a cabinet and sent papers raining down onto him.

His breath hitched in his throat as he locked eyes with the man and he felt time stop. He knew he had been spotted and he was trapped.

"Hey! You! Come on out of there!" The man yelled, pulling out his pistol and approaching Ed.

Ed stood up and stared at the threatening man. He glanced over at the other man who had his gun pointed at him.

"What are you doing in here and what's that paper you're holding?" The man pointed to the paper clenched tightly in Ed's fist.

"Um, I was sent by Roy Mustang to get a paper for him. Um, I got I.d." Ed stammered as he fumbled out his I.d and flashed it at them.

"Hand it over." The man demanded.

Ed gave it to him and watched as he scanned it. He felt his last hope sink as he heard the sound of the scanner warning.

"This is a fake!" The man threw down the I.d and locked his gun onto Ed. "Who are you and what the hell are you doing here?" He demanded harshly.

"Fine, you caught me. I surrender." Ed said with a heavy sigh, holding out his wrists in defeat.

The man yanked the paper from his hand and handcuffed him. "Come on, we're going to take you to Head quarters to figure out who you are and what you're doing here." The man said as he pushed Ed out the door.

They waded through the crowd and went outside. The cold air hit them and brought new strength to Ed.

He walked obediently for a few steps before he let out a sly smile and looked up at the man with cold golden eyes.

"What the hell are you smiling at?" The man hissed. "Just get walking!" He insisted.

"Sorry, can't let you take me to head quarters." Ed said simply. He lunged forward and grabbed onto the gun.

The man's eyes widened as he struggled with Ed. The gun went off and the man gasped before falling to the ground in a lifeless heap.

Ed stared at the dead man with shocked silence. He quickly snapped out of it as the other man fired a shot at him, missing him by an inch. Ed dodged to the right and snatched up the stolen paper before running off towards the nearest alleyway.

He glanced behind him and let out a sigh at the emptiness behind him. The other man was smart enough not to follow.

He focused on the path ahead and kept a steady pace towards Roy's house. His heart pounded like a drum by the time he burst through Roy's door.

Roy rounded the corner with a gun and sighed at the sight of Ed.

Ed gasped for breath and fell onto the couch. He glared at Roy and slapped down the paper. "Here, Asshole! Here's your precious paper! You know I almost died?" He growled.

Roy sat across from him and smirked. "Is that why you're in handcuffs?" He snickered.

Ed glared at him. "Yeah it is. You know, you could have just gotten them yourself!" He said. "You could have just walked right in and grabbed them and no one would have thought anything of it!" He hissed.

Roy leaned back and nodded with a smile. "True, but I had to see how willing you were to rescue your brother. I had to see if that was truth or just another lie." He said simply.

Ed glared. "Well, did it satisfy you?" He asked.

Roy nodded. "I believe you now." He said.

"Great, now we're best of friends. Now get these handcuffs off!" Ed yelled, thrusting his hands towards Roy's face.

"Alright, alright. Let me grab the keys." He said with a chuckle. He grabbed them and took the handcuffs off.

Ed rubbed his wrists. "Okay, one thing down. Now we need a plan to get into the building." Ed said.

Roy grabbed up the papers and opened them up. He laid them down on the table and looked them over. He pointed to a door way on the far back of the building.

"That looks like a good entry point." Roy said.

Ed looked at him like he was an idiot. "You made me steal these just to say to go in through the door? Are you an idiot? Have you even done this before? Don't you think going through a door is pretty obvious?" Ed said, rolling his eyes. He pointed to a high window.

"I say we enter there. They won't expect that." He said.

"And just how are we getting up to that window?" Roy asked. "Are we gonna just grab a ladder or what?" He asked.

"No, there's a tree here. I saw it the last time I was around that building. It's large enough to scale. I think it will work. Now we just need weapons." Ed said, looking up at Roy. "And that's your job." He said with a grin.

"Yeah, and I gotta get them without being questioned which may be hard now that Maes is watching my every move..." He said with a heavy sigh. "But don't worry about it. I'll get them." He promised.

"Good, in the meantime. Lets go over these and study them. We need to know every inch of this place." Ed said.

Roy nodded and focused on the papers. He glanced up as his radio rang.

"I gotta get this. Be quiet!" Roy said as he walked over to the radio and picked it up."Roy Mustang here. What's going on?" He answered.

"Roy it's me, Maes. We have another murder and this time we have a face to go with The Shadow. He slipped up, big time. I think we got him this time! Meet me outside of the Documents Library." Maes voice hung in the silent air as Roy stared at Ed.

"I'll be right there." He said, setting the radio down. He glared at Ed who shrunk under his gaze. "What the hell did you do?!" Roy snarled at him.

Ed flinched. "It was an accident. He had a gun and we fought over it and it went off. I didn't mean to kill him!" He rambled. "I didn't mean to!" He said in desperation as he looked into Roy's eyes with sorrow. "I really didn't..."

Roy stared at him for a minute longer before sighing and shaking his head. "What the hell am I supposed to do? They've seen your face." He said as he started pacing.

"Yeah but can't you get them off the scent?" Ed asked, sitting up on the couch a little straighter.

Roy nodded. "Yeah but they'll still be after you. You are our number one priority right now. There will be a manhunt for you and probably a reward put out too. Are you sure you still want to risk yourself by going after your brother?" He asked.

Ed's eyes darkened. "Are you suggesting I give up on my brother? Because I'd rather die then do that. It doesn't matter to me if I'm the most wanted man in the world, I'm still gonna save him!" Ed said with determination.

Roy gave him a smirk. "You are the most wanted man right now." He chuckled lightly and let out a breath. "But I suppose I'm still here to help, even if I will be aiding a fugitive." He said.


	17. Chapter 17

Edward's golden eyes flashed over to the huge warehouse and he gritted his teeth as he spotted two armed guards outside the main door.

Ed sighed and glanced at Roy who was knelling next to him. "So, what's the plan?" He asked.

Roy looked at him and frowned. "Well this makes things harder, that's for sure." He spoke in a hushed voice. "But the plan is still the same as before. We reach that tree over there and scale it." He said, pointing to the big tree next to the guards.

Ed nodded and smirked. "Then lets do this!" He said, pumping the air like an excited child.

Roy rolled his eyes and nodded. "Fine, but be quiet!" He hissed.

They slowly crept out of the bushes and stalked along the tall grass, trying to keep low.

Roy pointed to Ed to circle around the guards.

Ed nodded and silently clapped his hands together, sending a small flash of blue light through the air as his hand turned into a sword. He smirked to himself as it glinted in the light and he jogged quietly towards the guard.

Ed knelt next to the guard and he pounced up and hooked his sword around the man's throat. He used his own body weight to bring down the taller man.

Ed cupped his hand over the man's hand. "If you want to live, you'd better not say a word. Got it?" He whispered harshly into the man's ear.

Ed could feel the man trembling in his arms. He'd almost feel bad for the guy if he wasn't one of the men who took Alphonse.

Ed narrowed his eyes at the thought and fisted his hand. He raised it up and brought it down onto the man's head, hard.

The man's eyes rolled back into his head and he stopped shaking. Ed dropped him and focused on Roy as he took out the other guy without noise.

Ed rolled his eyes as he joined up with Roy again. "Are you trying to outdo me or something?" He asked.

Roy scowled at him. "That's about the last thing I'm thinking about. Besides, I always outdo you." He said with a smirk.

Ed glared at him. "Not true, Asshole." He hissed as he shoved Roy out of the way and started to scale the tree. He was determined to show that old man he was better in every way as he made it without flaw onto the thick branch.

Ed looked down at Roy with a smug smile and crossed his arms. "Coming?" He asked.

Roy ignored him and climbed up after him, only losing his footing once. He met Ed on the branch and he pointed to the window.

"You first but be ready for anything." He said, meeting Ed's eyes. "Got it?" He asked.

Ed nodded and crawled along the branch, careful not to stab himself with his own sword. He could feel his heart rate rising at the thought of Alphonse possibly being in the room he was about to enter. He wanted to punish the men for taking him away and he intended to.

Ed slid through the open window and landed quietly on the floor. He glanced back at Roy as he dropped down beside him.

They looked around and were welcomed by used crates and dust.

Ed was about to take a step when Roy's hand stopped him. "Something's not right. Where is everyone?" He asked, looking around carefully.

Ed glanced towards an empty chair and frowned. It seemed out of place in the wide space surrounding them.

"What's that?" He pointed to the chair and pushed out of Roy's hand. He stalked over to it and examined it carefully. He could see where ropes had been and where there was a touch of blood. He felt his heart squeeze at the thought of those men harming Al.

Roy walked over to him and frowned. "That's blood." He said. "Not good." He finished. He snapped his head up when he heard footsteps.

Roy grabbed Ed's arm and pulled him behind an old crate. They watched as four men came into the light, holding a blind folded figure by the shoulder.

Ed's eyes widened at his carefully looked over the figure. He could see his coat that Al had borrowed and the shoes he had bought him the last time they went shopping.

"That's Al!" Ed whispered frantically. "We have to save him!" He insisted, looking at Roy with pleading eyes.

"Shh!" Roy hushed him. They looked back at the men.

"Dis boy is struggling to much. Why did tha boss leave us with 'em?" A big burly man spoke with a heavy accent.

He shoved Al towards the wooden chair, nearly making Al trip. He grabbed onto Al's shoulder and forced him onto the chair. He grabbed some ropes and tied them tightly around Al, making him gasp in pain.

"I don't know why the boss cares so much about this stupid kid anyways. It's not like we couldn't find someone else to do killings..." A skinny man muttered as he shifted his gun strap higher onto his shoulder.

"Yo, we're gonna go and check with Bert and Steve. They haven't checked in yet and they were supposed to by now." The other two men headed towards the door and went out.

Ed gripped the crate tightly in anger at how they were treating Al. He wanted to murder them all. He wanted to tear their guts from them and dance in their blood. He could feel his blood boiling at the sight of them. The only reason he hadn't was Roy's hand on his shoulder, holding him down.

"We need a plan." Roy whispered to him.

Ed glared at him. "Yeah, go and kill them!" He snarled. He looked back the man with seething eyes.

"We can't just charge out there!" Roy hissed, trying to keep his voice low.

Ed glanced at him and shoved his hand off. "Watch me!" He growled as he jumped from their hiding spot.

"Hey Asshole!" Ed yelled in fury, holding his sword up in the light. "Let him go now. Or else." He spat.

The burly man blinked in mild surprise. "Aren't you the bosses lap dog? Don't you have some task to do or somethin'? He asked with an amused smile.

Ed gritted his teeth. He wanted to slash that man's throat. "I'm done being your slave. I want my brother back and I am prepared to do anything to get him back. Get it?" He growled.

"I wouldn't cross da boss. You don't want to see him when he's upset. Just leave kid." The man said, rolling his eyes. "I don't have time for dis." He muttered under his breath.

Ed felt something inside him snap and he charged towards the man. He brought his sword down, slicing the man's arm.

Ed jumped back and smirked as blood dripped down the man's arm and onto the floor in a steady stream.

The man looked down at his arm and frowned. "Not a good move kid." He said, pulling out a pistol. He aimed it at Ed. "Bye now." He said as he pulled the trigger.

Ed closed his eyes, prepared for the pain. He opened them when the pain didn't come. He saw the man sprawled out on the floor with Roy over him.

Roy was aiming the pistol at the skinny guy. "Drop the gun!" He demanded. He kept his finger on the trigger, showing just how serious he was about shooting the guy.

The guy was shaking and he frantically nodded, dropping the gun at his feet. He held up his hands.

"Good choice." Roy said. "Now kick the gun over here." He said, gesturing with the pistol.

The guy nodded and kicked it over. Roy picked it up and smirked. "Now go over there behind those crates and don't make any sound." He said.

The guy nodded and did what he was told.

Roy glanced over at Ed who was cutting through the tight ropes around Al. He finally sawed through them and removed the blind fold.

Al rapidly blinked his eyes. "Brother?..." He said with a scratchy voice. "Is that really you?" He asked.

Ed gave him a gentle smile and he nodded. "It's really me." He said softly.

Al latched onto Ed with a hug. "I thought I'd never see you again Brother!" He said happily but then let go. "But then that means you violated your contract?" He said with concern. "That puts you in danger."

Ed smiled. "Five seconds and you're already worried about me. I was done being a slave to murderers." He explained.

Roy's head snapped over to the sound of footsteps running towards them. He raised his gun and prepared himself.

The two guards were running at him. They froze at the sudden change of events. "What the hell?" They mumbled before snapping out of it and raising their guns.

Roy jumped behind a crate as they started firing rounds at him. He could only hope Ed and Al were behind cover as well.

He braced his back against the thick crate and waited for a pause in the shots before firing his own at the guys.

He heard one of the bullets hit as the guy fell to the floor with a loud grunt.

Roy smirked. He could see why Hawkeye liked these things. He took aim once more and shot, sending the bullet right towards his target, dropping it quickly.

He froze when he heard another shot nearby. He looked towards his right and saw Ed holding his hands up in surrender.

A big man had Al in his arms with a gun to his temple. "Don't tempt me, boy! You stay back." The man yelled. "And you! You drop that gun or I'll blow his brains out!" He demanded to Roy.

Roy narrowed his eyes and couldn't see a way out of it. He dropped his gun and kicked it over to the man.

He wanted to smirk as he felt his glove on his hand. The man hadn't a clue of who he was. He was about to find out.

Roy raised his hand and was about to send a fire ball towards the man as another sound grabbed his attention.

He looked towards the main door in shock as Maes and the rest of the crew came running in with guns aimed.

He glanced back at the man who had Al and watched in horror as he slipped back into the shadows with Al.

Ed looked back and forth between Maes and Al with wide eyes.

Maes aimed his gun and Ed. "Hold it! Don't move or I will kill you!" He yelled. "We finally got you!" He laughed.

Ed stared at him in shock.

Roy watched that shock turn into molten anger as Ed's golden eyes turned dark. Roy felt his heart drop and he felt time slow as Ed raised his hands and clapped.

Ed slammed his hands down on the ground, sending waves of blue light through it.

Maes fired his gun just as the floor spit in two and Maes fell with a yelp into the wide hole.

Roy watch in muted horror as his best friend fell down the empty chasm and disappear into the glanced up at Ed who was holding his shoulder. He watched as Ed ran off after Al.

Roy gritted his teeth and ran to the hole. "Maes! Are you okay?" He called, only to be answered by his echo. "Shit." He muttered.

He looked over at the stunned team. "Get ropes! Now!" He demanded. He felt anger spark inside of him. If Maes was hurt it was because of him. He went behind his back and helped a wanted man. It was all his fault.

He was handed a rope and he attached it to a stable ground point and threw the rope into the hole. "Be ready to pull us up!" He said as he started scaling down the rope, ignoring the slight burning in his hands at his rapid descent down the chasm.

He landed at the bottom and he snapped his fingers, lighting up a small torch on his finger. He frantically looked around. "Maes? Answer me!" He called.

He felt his heart drop as he spotted Maes laying on the broken rocks. He wasn't moving. Roy ran over to him and noticed the blood dripping from his mouth.

His eyes widened and he shook his head in horror. "No. No!" He yelled as he dropped to his knees. He lifted Maes up gently and shook him. "Wake up. Please wake up!" He begged. He gritted his teeth and dropped his head.

It was all his fault. He should never have trusted The Shadow. Never. He should have listened to Maes.

If it was the last thing he did, he would avenge Maes and put a stop to the manipulative child.

He would catch The Shadow, once and for all.

No matter what.


End file.
